


living is easy with eyes closed

by imgladimback



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, British Politics, British References, Communism, Developing Relationship, F/F, F/M, Feminist Themes, Implied/Referenced Terrorism, M/M, Nice Peter Pettigrew, Not Snape Friendly, One Night Stands, Other, Queer Themes, Unplanned Pregnancy, Welsh!Lily, Welsh!Remus, refers to the miners strike of 84
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-17 07:32:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 30,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11846883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imgladimback/pseuds/imgladimback
Summary: shifts at the coffee shop were lily evan's usual. tesco meal deals, men's jumpers and accidentally eating a whole bar of cadbury's were the usual. a one night stand wasn't. a baby certainly was not.features a trip to wales with all the family, more singing than regulas expected, a few mentions of colin firth and sirius in full drag at the hospital.she deserves that bar of chocolate now.





	living is easy with eyes closed

**Author's Note:**

> title from the beatles strawberry fields forever
> 
> also!! includes loads of british references like tesco, brexit and the snap election.

Standing behind the clean counter, Remus enjoyed the few minutes of peace and quiet that would last only a little longer, for the university students would soon be filing in, ordering different concoctions that he'd have to make up. If he didn't need the money and if he didn't love Peter, he'd quit in a heartbeat. 

"Looking forward to the flat white rush?" Remus turned to face his co-worker, Lily and groaned at her in response. She knew exactly how much he hated the 'flat white rush', as they so aptly named the busy mornings. In just a few minutes, the blissful ambience of the coffee shop would be disrupted by people eager to get their caffeine fix and would all be rude by snapping out their order and expect it right then, as if there weren't other orders to be dealt with. 

"Just as much as you, I'm sure." A shorter man approached the two and Lily gave a high five to Peter before tying her hair into a ponytail, shoving a few ginger strands messily into the hairband. Now mindful of his own hair that was growing a little long (the curls he tried to ignore were now slowly creeping forward into his eyes), Remus moaned when he saw the first wave of people begin to trickle in.

"Battle stations!" He called and both Lily and Peter gave him a brisk salute as they began to prepare for the oncoming storm. Angry customers in the morning were still awful, even if it wasn't a new thing. 

First up was a girl with platinum blonde hair and a crisp blouse who luckily only wanted a decaf blend, with a splash of milk. Remus was careful to explain the significance of the splash to Lily as this girl had previously ranted at an ex-barista for putting too much milk in. In short, it was a bloodbath. With a bored flick of blonde hair, she handed over a five-pound note, telling him to keep the change. When he asked her how to spell her name, she said each letter with a meticulous pause between and Remus felt his cheeks redden. All he wanted was to get her name right and she still managed to make him feel small. 

"Decaf for Narcissa," Lily shouted out and soon the girl was gone, though Peter made a few remarks under his breath. Business sped up after that and Remus, Lily and Peter were soon rushing to complete orders. Things all changed, however, when a girl walked in with a large sports jacket, like the ones that were popularly worn in the eighties. Because he was busy picking out a cheese toastie for someone, Remus was away from the counter and so Peter had to serve the girl. He was stuttering all over the place and she giggled, giving her name to him with a bright smile. 

"It's Mary MacDonald, but plain old Mary is fine," she said, small, though Peter would later insist that they were delicate, hands fishing in her pockets for the change. The jingle of coins rang out in the shop.

"Mary isn't plain, or old. It's a nice name, a lovely name," Peter managed to say and Mary's cheeks flushed slightly as she handed over the exact price of her drink, which meant there was no change. 

"Thank you, Peter," she said after looking at his nametag on his apron. Their slightly awkward flirting ended when she collected her drink but Mary shot Peter a smile as she walked out of the coffee shop to her first class. She seemed to be the last customer as the coffee shop was empty bar the employees. 

"Peter!" Lily exclaimed, throwing her pale arms around the boy as he blushed brightly. The pair began jumping around and Remus couldn't help but join in and soon the three were bouncing around whilst The Human League quietly sang from the speakers in the corners of the room. They were happy for him.

"Mary MacDonald," Peter sighed a while later, smiling as he wiped down a table with a cloth. He'd had a long chat with Lily, who was very happy for him, even though he'd just talked to her for two minutes. Still, she was very pretty and she held a book that the Gender Studies class needed, so she was either a student of that class or a feminist, and Peter himself was the latter. He loudly believed that women should be treated as equally as men and vice versa. Sometimes, women were treated lesser, with such issues as the wage gap and the idea that they are at blame for their own sexual assault. Other times, it was men who were behind when it came to problems like sexual assault and abusive relationships.

No matter what, Peter always spoke out about both genders and for the people who didn't identify as either or both. If we were all destined to live on this planet, we should all be treated the same. Regularly, Peter attended a feminist book club and Remus popped in every now and then. They called themselves "Character Roles Not Gender Roles" and people enjoyed the name, even if it was a little long for a book club. That week they were reading "We Should All Be Feminists" and Peter quite enjoyed it. There were some books he didn't like but he also liked the previous month's book, a Graham Norton book. Of course he liked it; he was probably the man's biggest fan!

Since Remus, Lily and Peter all shared a flat, they all had to watch Graham Norton's show every Saturday without fail, as Peter claimed he was an icon. They also watched Casualty and Holby City, though Lily much preferred the first as she loved one of the nurses in it. Remus discreetly punched the air when he realised that the Saturday that week was their takeaway Saturday. 

"Hello, sorry, I heard Journey and now I do fancy a coffee." A man with hair falling to his shoulders stood at the door and Remus blinked at him, he was absolutely bloody gorgeous. Of course, he came with someone though, a dark skinned boy with glasses and a smug smirk which was directed right at Lily.

"No it's fine, Re will serve you," Lily said and slowly Remus made his way to the counter and took the orders. 

"The name is Padfoot for the latte and Prongs for the caramel thing," the man told him and grinned. "So, you a Journey fan?" He asked Remus, pointing up to reference the current track that was playing.

"Who isn't?" The man laughed, a sound that filled Remus with happiness. Then, because Lily obviously never wanted him to be happy, she called out the two names and the men collected their coffees. However, he got his own back when the second boy took one look at her and grinned even wider.

"Well hello," he said, whilst 'Padfoot' stood to one side, checking his phone for the time. Leaning on a table for support, Padfoot tapped one foot against the floor, waiting for his friend to finish trying to flirt with Lily, which, by the looks of things, was going surprisingly well. He wasn't her usual type. 

"Hate to break it to you, but we won't have time to get to the rally if we don't hurry," he shouted and both Lily and Remus raised their eyebrows at either man. "Oh yes, I'll assume you've heard of that Gilderoy Lockhart? Well, he's written a book and some of us are going to just protest about it. Transphobia and sexism aren't welcome here," he explained whilst his friend nodded violently. Honestly, Lily was a little worried that he'd throw up and that would put her off the vegetarian wrap she'd bought from Tesco's that morning. Still, worries about him throwing up aside, he was nice, genuinely nice. 

"Well, you better get going then," Peter interrupted the four of them with a wave of his hands and the two men left the coffee shop, though the longer haired one of the two looked back as they walked by the window.

"Did he just wink at you?" Lily squealed, picking up a couple of empty paper cups that people had left behind. Going around with her, Peter used a cloth to wipe up any small puddles from spilt drinks.

"Let's get back to work, yeah?" Peter insisted and the two did as he said, though Remus noticed Lily shoved a scrap of paper in her pocket. Shaking his head slightly, he promised to talk to her later, when they all got back to the flat. He just hoped it wasn't his turn to cook, those were his least liked nights.

Only he didn't get to talk to her. When the three of them got back to the flat, Peter began cooking (to Remus' utter joy) a quick stir-fry, using the vegetable mix that was almost about to go out of date. Due to the slight chill, Remus shoved on the orange jumper that was on the arm of the worn sofa. Lily went straight to the bathroom, trying to find her favourite lipstick. When Remus occasionally wore lipstick, that was the one he used and so it could be absolutely anywhere.

"It's here," Peter called from the kitchen and so Lily dashed in, picking the lipstick up from its place in the spice rack. Neither of them knew how it got there since Peter remembered Remus putting it in the living room, but they didn't bother questioning it; things like that always happened in the flat. "So, where you off out then?" He asked as Lily hopped up onto the kitchen counter and filled a glass halfway with smooth orange juice. 

"Only gone and got a date, Petey," she said, smiling before taking a sip of the juice. That was when Remus entered the room and returned the carton of orange back to the fridge, pulling out a cheap bottle of wine to make room for it again. 

"Let me guess, that guy from the shop?" Remus said, grabbing two plates from the cupboard after Lily shook her head at a third when he started to take it out.

"You know me well," she replied as she folded the pile of clothes Remus had left out that morning. With a smile, she held up the green socks she'd thought she'd lost a few weeks ago. Lucky that, they were her favourite pair. 

"Least you got a number," Remus sighed then he handed Peter a tea-towel, even though he didn't really need one to serve up the stir-fry, but it was just a force of habit really. Better to be unnecessary than to get a burn.

"Well, I hope you have a lovely night and remember, if he turns out to be a creep, just send a text and we'll get you out of there," Peter said, reciting the words he said to Remus and Lily every time they went on a date with a new person. He just wanted them to be safe and they did the same for him, when he actually went on a date, which was a very rare occurrence, he'll admit it.

"Of course," Lily reassured him before planting a kiss on his cheek and doing the same to Remus. With a jangle of her keys unlocking the door, Lily was gone for the night, leaving Remus and Peter with a night full of watching BBC IPlayer. 

"Start off with a bit of Casualty?" And so the pair ate their stir-fry over the latest episode of Casualty, sometimes pausing to talk about the latest development. That episode left them with somewhat of a cliffhanger and both were eager to find out what exactly would happen next. After a catch up with Holby, a quick burst of Graham Norton and an unplanned visit to the East End, the two boys said their goodnights and headed off to bed. 

Lying in his bed, Remus realised how the springs in his mattress were becoming more noticeable when he lay down. Still, he found it to be oddly comfortable as the dips were in just the right place for him. That one sentence made him realise just how single he was. There hadn't been anyone in a long time who had even had the chance to complain about the lumpy mattress, let alone get him to change it. Still, that man at the coffee shop had been so nice, but not just aesthetically. When he began talking about the Lockheart protest, it warmed Remus' heart. To hear someone, apart from Lily or Peter, openly talk about sexism and transphobia was nice. He was just nice.

Sometime around three in the morning, Lily unlocked the door and stepped into the flat, placing her keys down in the kitchen. She poured herself a drink of water from the tap and opened the fridge, pulling out a half finished BLT. Originally, she'd planned to have missed out Tesco tomorrow and have it for her lunch but it wasn't looking the best and she might as well eat it now. Besides, she fancied a full meal deal for lunch and she deserved it. 

Reminding herself that it was about three in the morning, Lily headed off to bed, scrubbing her face with a makeup wipe as she did so. She happily took off her red heels and got changed into her fleecy pyjama bottoms, revelling in the warmth they brought. Moving her feet around underneath her duvet, Lily easily fell asleep without setting any alarms. 

Later that morning, half an hour before her shift started, Remus came in to wake her up, holding a plate of breakfast that Peter made before he left for his own shift, two hours ago. That day, Remus had the latest shift and he used his time wisely. 

"Alright sleeping beauty, it's time to get up and criticise Nigel," he said and she began to stir, blinking groggily. "You've got twenty minutes until you need to go," he added and Lily sat up, frowning at Remus as she stumbled around looking for clothes. "Look, eat this and I'll plait your hair for you." She agreed and sat down on the bed, eating the bacon that Remus had plonked in the microwave a few minutes earlier. At this rate, she'd have to nip to Tesco's in her lunch break, which meant she'd have no time to visit her friend Dorcas like she planned. 

"Let Dorcas know that I can't make it today," she said to Remus before kicking him out of her room so she could get dressed without him questioning her about her date last night. For a minute she stood in her room in just a pair of fleecy pyjama bottoms and her bra, thinking about the night before. James was an absolute gentleman and they spent a good deal of the evening talking politics. He tried to convince her to stay at his whilst she was busy looking for her tights but Lily declined. Still, they had another date planned for the day on Tuesday and she found herself looking forward to it.

Alone, Remus put in a load of washing and began to make his way to Tesco's to pick up both Lily and Peter a meal deal, he knew neither of them had brought lunch to work with them. In the street, he bumped into someone and instantly began apologising but then cursed his luck as he had ran into the one and only Gilderoy Lockheart, the worst MP he'd ever met. Not only was the man a bumbling fool, he also hated the LGBTQ+ community, women, students, immigrants, basically anyone who wasn't a straight, white man. 

"Honestly, it's people like you, what are you, Welsh? Most of you lot were miners, right? Thatcher had the right idea, get rid of the lot of you." Remus rolled his eyes, he hated Thatcher with a burning passion but he still knew that the miners' strike wasn't to "bump off the Welsh", what a ridiculous notion! Had the man ever been up North or even read about Thatcher's plans? As much as he hated them, Remus evidentially knew more than Lockheart. 

"Yes, now I have to go meet my Muslim boyfriend who used to be a woman and we're going to see my mum, the famous traveller," Remus said, staring the man in the eyes.

"Makes me sick, it really does. Bet you're one of those hippie Labour supporters, you bloody fairy!" Now Lockheart was shouting his head off, spouting some nonsense about how people like Remus were the bane of the Earth and how David Cameron would be sickened, never mind that Theresa May was now in charge. 

"And here I thought you could never get worse at being a politician. Cameron's gone, Theresa's here. I know that and I'm one of those hippies." Remus turned around and saw the man from the coffee shop smirking as Lockheart walked away, having finally realised that he wasn't going to win that one. 

"Thanks," he said, walking up to meet the man in the middle of the street, even if it was safer on the pavement. 

"No worries. I heard your unforgettable accent and had to step in, it would be a crime if I didn't help my fellow feminist," he joked, running a hand through his lovely hair. 

"I'm Remus Lupin. It was my parents being funny at the time, but the joke's not that funny anymore." The man smirked a little before sticking his hand out, moving his Sainsbury's bag to the other.

"Sirius Black, and I understand your struggle," he said, "I can't ever not be serious." Remus snorted at that and the two men began talking, Sirius going with Remus into Tesco's to keep up the conversation. 

"I still stand by the fact that Brexit sounds like a blimming cereal," Remus said and Sirius laughed loudly before looking at Remus.

"I have to go, my shift starts soon but if I give you my number, will you call?" Sirius asked and Remus almost immediately handed over his phone.

When Remus got to the self-service checkout and the machine began telling him to place the item in the bagging area, he resisted the temptation to scream at it by thinking about how Sirius had smiled when he handed the phone back to Remus. He smiled himself.

Like every year, Lily hosted her Halloween Extravaganza and her costume that year was great. Wearing a long, black coat and some Doc Martens, not forgetting the glasses at the end of her nose, she'd go up to people and nod furiously. By also talking about the Green Party, Lily had her Remus costume sorted and everyone at the party loved it. Even Marlene, who'd chosen to come as Theresa May told her how much she liked it. It was strange to see Theresa May kissing her girlfriend, Wonder Woman. Remus had brought Sirius round and he'd thrown himself into it by coming as Dr Frank-N-Furter which made Lily almost cry when she opened the door. From then on, Sirius was on door duty and he stayed in character all night. Like Sirius, Marlene stayed in character all night and was constantly debating with Remus and Peter, or Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn. Then Lily would join the conversation and everyone would just end up laughing at her Remus impressions.

Three weeks later, Remus and Peter were awoken by Lily screaming down the phone at someone. Peter wondered who it could be, since she hadn't really been out with anyone after that man from the coffee shop. Remus insisted it was either an insurance company or something along those lines, as she always started an argument with them. 

"He didn't mean to, of course, he bloody well didn't! He's your friend!" She shouted and the two men decided to intervene. In the living room, Lily was on her mobile and she held something tightly in her hand, the hand she kept waving around every now and then. "Oh, bugger off!" She threw her phone onto the sofa with a shriek and that was when she noticed her two flatmates staring at her. It was enough for her to break down crying in the middle of the living room.

"Oh Lily, whatever is the matter?" Peter asked as he held her, patting her back soothingly.

"It's all such a mess," she wailed, waving the hand again. Whilst it was in the air, Remus caught it and brought it down when she let go of the item and pressed it into his hand. With her nod of permission, Remus looked at it and blinked. He was holding a positive pregnancy test. 

"Who's is it?" Was his first question, though he had one person already in mind. 

"James bloody Potter!" She cried and Peter caught on to what the two were discussing. Lily was pregnant. That day, Peter closed up the shop and the three spent the day watching Bridget Jones and other Colin Firth movies, such as Nanny McPhee and St. Trinian's, though Lily preferred the latter. Though Remus gave up his date with Sirius, Sirius told him that whatever Lily was going through (since her phone call that morning had given him no answers but many questions) was far more important than a trip to the Tate Modern. 

Two weeks later, Lily met with Dorcas and Marlene. Sat in a small café, the pair were casually holding hands whilst scrolling on their phones when Lily walked in and then they put their phones away. Though the lighting was dim to try and create a private mood, Lily felt as if she was on display by being in such a public area. Nobody was with her either; Peter had to work and call in help from Fabian Prewett whilst Remus was out celebrating Sirius' birthday, even if it was a little bit late.

"We're not going to sugar-coat it and lead up to it by making small talk, Lily, you're pregnant. What are you going to do?" Marlene wasn't a fan of soft and fuzzy hazes. Instead, Marlene was sharp lines and exact angles, she was all perfectly lined red lips and precise winged eyeliner. That's why it was such a surprise she ended up dating Dorcas. She was soft, kind and sweet, nothing like the women Marlene had previously had affairs with. 

"I don't know," Lily answered honestly and Dorcas reached for her hand over the table, showing off pale pink nails. 

"We know that but it's a tough choice that you have to make. Are you going to keep it?" Marlene asked, patting her and Dorcas' hands after she spoke. 

"No clue. I need to talk to James." She rested her head in her hands, thinking about how a drunken one night stand led to a pregnancy. She was stupid enough to think she could have a relationship with him but James was off with some girl. At least, she saw them snogging outside Wetherspoons in her lunch break. She didn't even get a good sandwich that day; Lily had to settle with tuna and sweetcorn on white bread. Honestly.

"Remember that, at the end of the day, this is your body and your choice to make," Dorcas told her, smiling softly. "Either way, we'd love to see more of you, Lily. It's so nice to talk to you." The three talked about less important things for a while, like the idea of running her own book club and Peter's Victoria sponge he made last Sunday, until Marlene took a deep breath.

"Look, if you need to talk about this, I'm here. I understand about life changing things, at least I'd say I do. HIV and a baby are nothing alike, I get that, but I'd still like to try and help." Lily gave Marlene a hug; she appreciated how hard it was for Marlene to talk about being HIV-positive. She'd been diagnosed about two years ago, just before she met Dorcas, but it wasn't long enough for her to feel comfortable throwing it around. Besides, with idiots like Lockheart around, it was no surprise she didn't like to mention it. He'd said some things that would make even Nigel Farage disown him. 

Exactly one month after she met with Dorcas and Marlene, Lily saw James. Arranging the whole meeting was a complete mess and Lily felt like she was swimming but barely keeping her head above water, probably like many politicians. Eventually, James agreed to meet her in the Asda café, not the place Lily would've chosen, but it was a meeting all the same. 

"So, what's so important that Sirius was banging on my door all morning? He even brought his brother along," James said as soon as he sat down but the worst thing was the fact that he looked good. There was nothing about him that looked tired or ragged, no, he just had to look peachy. On the other hand, Lily felt as awful as a Tesco egg mayo sandwich. Some people liked egg mayo, but Lily personally didn't know anyone who did. In short, she wasn't doing too well. 

"Yeah, I'd say it's big," Lily muttered, taking a swig of her, in her opinion, way too overpriced Tropicana orange juice. Though there were only two of them, the pair took up a four seat table and faced each other; Lily placed her Primark handbag on the spare seat next to her. She'd have to start budgeting even more, now that there was a chance of her caring for two.

"Well, just say it, I've not got all day." God, though he might look fine, James seemed a whole lot more arrogant and less like someone who would turn up to protests against Lockheart. 

"If you want it like that, I'm pregnant, about a couple of weeks," she said, staring him straight in the eyes. James went through a range of emotions before keeping shock. He looked like Peter when he found out Cameron won the election. Unlike Peter, there was no sadness from when Ed Miliband resigned. There was a funeral in the flat that day. It was surprisingly difficult to find all black in anyone's wardrobe.

"Jesus Christ, you're pregnant?" He all but shouted, taking off his glasses to try and think more clearly. Twenty one and he was going to be a dad. 

"Don't act as if it's my fault, you were a part of this," Lily said, absently rubbing a spot on her forehead. Ever since she took that bloody test, everything seemed to have gone wrong. Even her skin was moaning at her. Maybe it was telling her off for being so stupid to have a one night stand with James Potter. 

"Sirius knew before me? And Reg?" He asked, wondering why that was the case. 

"Yes. Remus is dating him and Sirius and Reg found me the other day by the loo. First few days of morning sickness were hell and I'm only six weeks gone. I won't lie to them," Lily answered truthfully and James sighed, putting a hand to his forehead. An elderly couple looked over at them but both James and Lily ignored them to look at each other. 

"I don't know what to say to you, Lily, I really don't." James put his hands palm down on the table and sighed again. Nobody prepared him for this. 

"The first decision is one I want you to have some say in. Do you want this baby?" She asked and James was silent for a long time. So, she took another sip of orange juice and waited for him. 

"As much as that kid is mine, it's your body. At the end of the day, I can't make you keep or give up that kid," James said and Lily took back her earlier statement. No matter what he seemed, James did have some of that Lockheart hating, sexism fighting, all around good guy left in him, it was just a little subdued. 

"Thank you. I'd just like to know what you want, so then I can think about me. Give me a call when you think you've made a decision but, try not to take too long. I've only got around six more weeks until we've got no choice," Lily smiled and put her tartan scarf on, shook James' hand and then left, leaving the man in Asda alone. Maybe he'd treat himself to a baked item; sugar was good for shock.

Back at the flat, Dorcas and Marlene were round and Peter was talking to them and some others in the kitchen. After Lily put her keys down, she entered the room and was met with a round of hello's from her friends. With an Ed Miliband cup in her hand, Mary MacDonald gave Lily a warm, one armed hug before heading back to her space by Peter. He was busy cooking a stir-fry, only this one had fresher ingredients compared to the last one he made, the night of the one night stand. She'd said it so many times that it deserved capital letters; The One Night Stand.

"How did it go?" Sirius walked up to Lily from the living room and patted her on the upper arm. Behind him stood Remus and Sirius' little brother, Regulas. There was a full house in the flat tonight. 

"Surprisingly alright. He's going to call when he's decided if he wants it and then I'll make a choice. It's only been two weeks but I'm attached to the idea of a little Evans. Still, I need to think about what's best," she said and Remus reached over to ruffle her hair.

"Come on, we've got some Ant and Dec waiting for us." Regulas took her into the living room and she sat on the floor, seeing as they didn't have a lot of room. It didn't matter she was pregnant, she still had some common courtesy. 

Later that evening, the group were all somewhere in the living room and an old episode of a political satirical show was on. Whilst David Mitchell was talking to Ian Hislop, Regulas was busy making fun of something Lockheart had said recently and Lily was giggling at him. Looking over at the two, Peter smiled. He was glad that she was happy, she really did deserve it. Mary patted his hand gently and he began talking to her quietly, trying not to disturb the debate Remus and Sirius were having against Dorcas and Marlene.

Though they'd only been in their lives for a couple of weeks, Sirius and Mary's presence was something that felt like it had always been there and nobody felt like complaining. Besides, Marlene liked someone she could properly argue with. With that, Regulas popped round a while ago, looking for Sirius and Remus invited him in, for a cup of tea. From there, Regulas was as part of the group as Sirius. 

A week after the meeting with James, Lily got home after her shift at the coffee shop and saw Remus and Peter in the living room with a medium sized tree, grinning widely. 

"Merry Christmas!" Peter draped a silver tinsel boa around Lily's neck whilst Remus showed off his awful jumper that included bells which jingled. The three spent that evening putting up their tree and decorating the house. They didn't have a proper outside to decorate so Peter promised to put lights outside the shop, as well as Christmas and Hanukah decorations indoors. 

The next day, Lily held Peter to his promise and happily handed over a cardboard box that was full to the brim with lights and other miscellaneous items. Indoors, Mary, who was stopping by, helped Dorcas to set up the candles whilst Marlene sat on a chair and called out if something needed moving. She called it "Artistic Knowledge", but everyone dismissed it as something that was just Marlene. 

When it came to the outdoor lights, Lily was cackling as she recorded Peter holding onto the chair Remus was wobbling on to put the lights across the doorframe. The bricks that were used on the pavement may have looked rustic but they made balancing an absolute nightmare.

"Health and safety will have my neck!" Peter moaned every time he had to hold onto the chair just a little more. Remus peered at the lights through his glasses, the ones he insisted that he didn’t need before finally finishing. From Lily's view, the shop looked lovely and festive and, since they only had some lights on the outside, it wasn't overly Christian. Hopefully, Lockheart would walk in and moan a bit about the lack of pure Christian décor, it would make for a truly heart-warming Christmas story.

"Lily?" She turned to find James Potter standing by the door of the shop, looking awfully warm in a deep blue puffer jacket. With a quick goodbye to Peter and Remus, Lily walked over to James, making sure not to slip on any patches of ice that she didn't notice. As a result of this, Lily took a while in actually getting over to James but she was sure he wouldn't mind the extra consideration. 

"You didn't call," she teased, pulling her fingerless gloves just a little further up her hand. Remus always complained that they defeated the purpose of gloves but they were orange and wool so Lily wasn't really that bothered. 

"No, I thought you deserved more than that," he said seriously and Lily wondered how long it had been since he'd had to have pulled that tone out. It wasn't used to carefree banter about Lockheart, that's for sure. 

"Do you want to go in?" James nodded and so the two walked into the coffee shop, Marlene unabashedly watching from her space across the room. When Lily noticed her, Marlene gave up the pretence of reading Vogue and shot her a wink. 

"Look, no matter what I say, I want you to do what you want, what's best for your body." Lily nodded, he said the same last time. "Lily, I want to keep the kid. Listen, I know we're only twenty-one, but this is a kid. I'm not saying it to be pro-life, I'm saying it because I believe with a woman as strong as you, that kid will grow up great. The Potter genes would help out too." Lily paused; she honestly thought he wouldn't want to keep it. 

"Okay," she said and then she said it a few times more. 

"I get it's a lot to take in so let me know when you decide. No matter what, I'll be here because I got you into this mess too." Like last time, the two said their goodbyes but James was the one to leave. 

"So, what's the verdict?" Marlene asked as she began putting her hair up into a bun, though she couldn't pull her fringe far back enough for that. Watching with Mary, Dorcas gave Lily a smile before continuing to hang fairy lights above the picture of Elton John that Peter bought a few years back. 

"He wants to keep it," she whispered, still trying to take in the news herself. The father of her unborn child wanted it. That wasn't the usual story she heard, but when did she like the usual? When she, Remus and Peter watched The Great British Bake Off in the summer, Lily always enjoyed the bakers who thought out of the box. Though it had been a few years, Lily was still hung up on the whole Baked Alaska fiasco. 

"That just leaves you now, doesn't it," Marlene said, nodding to the door as Peter and Remus entered the shop again, the wobbly chair in tow. Being fair, the way the pavement was paved outside didn't help the chair's stability. 

"Lily, are you going home for Christmas?" Dorcas shouted from behind the counter where she was busy making someone a cheese and ham toastie. It didn't matter that it wasn't her shift (she came in maybe once a week to help out), she was covering for Lily and Peter certainly wasn't going to moan at her. 

"No, I couldn't lie to them about this but it might not be worth telling them," Lily told her and Marlene nodded, pulling out a lipstick from her pocket. The lipstick looked far more expensive than Lily's own favourite, her Body Shop pink. Now applying the crimson to her lips, Marlene had a steady hand as she brought the colour over her cupid''s bow. Red was the colour of Christmas, as well as the ribbon Marlene wore on her big denim jacket. Across the shop, Dorcas also had a ribbon, though hers was on the pinafore beneath her windbreaker. 

One warm night at the flat, Remus was sat in his room with Sirius, though Lily and Peter were watching QI with Mary and Regulas. They'd been having dates here and there; either going out to places like museums, or Sirius had come round to Remus', or vice versa. However, when Remus opened the door to the three, Sirius had asked if they could talk. Instantly, Remus had a bad feeling. Nothing good ever came from those words. 

"Look, we've been doing something for a while now and I've really enjoyed spending time with you." Remus closed his eyes, bracing for the inevitable words that would come next. "But it would be best if we broke up." He'd heard it all before and he'd just have to cope again, no matter just how much he liked Sirius. "Remus, I'd love for you to be my boyfriend, like properly." Remus' eyes instantly shot open. 

"But why?" He asked, staring at Sirius as if he couldn’t work it out. People like Remus never got asked out, they were the people as disliked as the cold that came at the start of spring. 

"Because you're Remus. You're funny and tall, you're Welsh and you stand up to idiots like Lockheart. You like Tesco's more than you should and The Beatles too, for that matter. Not to mention, you're smoking hot and I love you, umm your face." Sirius looked down at Remus' IKEA bedsheets and traced the delicate pattern with his fingers. In that moment, he felt vulnerable. 

"God, Sirius, you don't know what that means to me. Of course I'll date you." Sirius smiled, a smile that made Remus forget absolutely everything, including his worry over Tesco's rising prices, not to mention the awful increase of the price of Freddo's. Looking down, Remus absently noticed that Sirius had put his hand over Remus' and he felt as if he was not quite there, he was so happy. It had been so long since someone had dated him, but it never felt like this. This was something more.

"I'll take you to McDonald's for breakfast tomorrow, get you some hash browns," Sirius promised quietly and Remus chuckled; he did like McDonald's hash browns. Still laughing, Remus began peppering light kisses (light enough that the crimson he wore on his lips didn't stain his skin) all over Sirius' face, lingering slightly when it came to his soft lips. Soft was an overused cliché kind of word, but the amount of lipbalm Sirius went through meant that his lips were always going to be nice and hydrated. Unfortunately, Lily and Regulas entered Remus' room giggling, so the two had to split apart.

"Sorry, but QI is over and Pete wanted to know if you were interested in an episode of Bake Off? It'll be an old one but it'll be good," Lily told them, holding up a small carton of Tesco orange juice to show Remus she wasn't drinking. Next to her, Regulas took a swig of his cheap wine, grimacing slightly and he silently promised to bring over a bottle of his favourite wine next Saturday. 

"Why not?" Sirius answered, grinning at Remus. "Reggie, grab two ciders, we're celebrating." Regulas rolled his eyes but he was smiling all the same as he walked to the kitchen to collect the drinks, as well as one for himself. 

"What's to celebrate then boys?" Lily sat down on the bed, patting her tartan trousers to get rid of some crumbs that had caught to the material. Even when she used a plate, crumbs had a way of just sticking to her. 

"Remus is my boyfriend now, as official as a stamp, I don't know." The three of them began laughing over Sirius' failed attempt of a simile, though he'd later insist that it wasn't a failure, because he managed to get an actual simile, no matter how bad it really was. 

In the living room, Remus and Sirius sat on the floor together whilst Mary and Peter took up one side of the sofa and Regulas and Lily the other. On the television, Mary Berry was talking to a baker whilst Paul Hollywood was nodding with his arms crossed. A round ago, Peter brought out a tray of cakes, the ones that hadn't sold too well in the shop. Though everyone seemed to like them, Peter decided that maybe his bad replicas of Lockheart's book weren't for everyone. Shame, he enjoyed eating Meningitis and Me, even if it was a pain to ice. Better than Magnificent Me, the bugger's actual book. 

Christmas Eve Eve, Lily was sat behind the counter, waiting to see if any snow began to fall like the weather report said. At the moment, the shop was nearly empty, but the Labour candidate in their area, Andromeda Tonks, was sat drinking a coffee as she read over papers. Everyone knew that her husband, Ted, would be at the hospital and their daughter should be at school, but she was twelve and that was old enough to try and act out. Would she ever have to deal with that?

Picking at a cherry scone, Lily sighed, tapping her feet on the stool she sat on. All she had to look forward to was the takeaway Remus had promised for tomorrow night, along with the few presents she'd been sent. The door opened then closed and a gust of cold, December wind blew in, making Lily shiver when it reached her. 

"Excuse me?" Lily looked up into the kind eyes of Andromeda Tonks and she almost gasped, the woman was somewhat of a hero to her. Not only was she the first female candidate in Lily's area, but Andromeda was also part of the Labour party and a mum, showing that she could be a mother and have a job at the same time. 

"Yes, is there anything wrong? I'm happy to help," she said, sitting straight up and making sure her posture was as good as it could be.

"No, no, nothing like that. It's just that this young man is outside and I think he's looking for you. One, I'm thirty-two and married, and two, my name isn't Lily." Andromeda smiled and Lily turned to look outside, getting off of her stool to try and get a better look. Outside, James looked like he was re-enacting a scene from Love Actually; he had a sign with her name on it and he was ignoring all the stares he was getting from all the passers-by. 

Since he was looking for her, Lily walked to the window, not hearing Andromeda chuckle. Like Love Actually, James moved the sign with her name on it to the back and she read the next one.

"LILY, IT'S CHRISTMAS," she nodded her head and pointed to all of the decoration that was around them. "I'M LONELY, YOU'RE WITH COUPLES," again, Lily had to agree but she admitted that she had no clue where it was going. "SIRIUS IS GONE :(, CAN I COME TO YOURS?" Lily began laughing; James put in all this effort just to ask if he could spent Christmas at the flat. 

Still laughing, Lily walked outside and stopped in front of James. 

"We've got so many people round, what's one more? Of course you can come, I am carrying your child." The two began laughing their heads off before Lily invited James in and paid for his coffee to try and warm him up. Back in her seat, Andromeda watched on fondly then carried on with her work to try and convince the town to welcome a Pride Parade. Surely, they were the only town in England to not have at least one Pride yet? After hearing a shout, she looked up to find Lily pressed up against the window, grinning at the snow that was falling. 

Christmas Eve brought an evening at the flat and, like always, everyone was round. Unlike always however, was the fact that James had turned up, with an overnight bag and a bottle of wine. Regulas was the one to open the door, since Remus and Lily were in the bathroom with a list, ordering the takeaway by the phone. Even Marlene had agreed to turn off her music so that they could order and that was something. 

Looking over at the door, Sirius saw James stood outside in the snow and gestured for Regulas to let him in. After all, he did remember Lily saying something about it yesterday. When he walked into the flat, James hugged Sirius, patting his back twice. Both Dorcas and Mary moved up a little to either give James room to sit on the floor or sofa and he sat next to Mary on the worn sofa, introducing himself to her. 

A few minutes later, Lily and Remus returned, Lily holding a can of cider in her hand. James was going to say something but she handed the can to Regulas and he felt a little silly. Maybe that was how Lockheart felt all the time. 

Since it was Christmas Eve, Remus looked in their cupboard under the stairs and found an old guitar, one that certainly looked old, at least. Taking it from him, Sirius began strumming away, taking the lead with Mariah's classic Christmas song. Next to him, Peter and Mary joined in happily, Mary looking at home with Peter's arm around her. Even Regulas hummed along, though he closed his eyes to escape any looks.

However, it wasn't finished when Peter turned on the Christmas music channel and Band Aid played. Straight away, Lily began shouting about how the old Band Aid was the best and no one denied it, the newer versions were nowhere near as good as the original. Besides, the 1984 had George Michael in it and they loved George. 

"Right, what are we watching on this fine night?" Peter asked, holding up a stack of films that included Elf, The Breakfast Club, Pride and Love Actually. Immediately, Lily began shouting for Love Actually but she was drowned out by the chorus of people asking for Pride. The whole fiasco was sorted by Peter agreeing to put on Pride and then Love Actually, so everyone got what they wanted. 

Halfway through the film, Dorcas and Marlene suddenly shouted as Dominic West got into a yellow bus.  
"Every woman is a lesbian at heart," they sang and Lily chimed in from where she lay with her head in Regulas' lap, though he piped up too. Awkwardly, James joined in at the end before flopping his head back onto the sofa and watching the film. At the end, Remus paused the movie and stood up, clearing his throat.

"Before we start Love Actually, I'd just like to say a few words." James wondered if this was a regular occasion in this flat; there were enough people for it to be. "All of us here, and I mean all of us, we're minorities. From what we've seen, minorities need to stick together. I'm just trying to saw that I'm very happy to be united with you lot, but we still have a long way to go. Annie almost got there but that idiot Lockheart won. This year, I promise to fight for you, as long as you fight for me," Remus said and James immediately began clapping, the rest of the room following suit. 

"Welsh forever, right?" Sirius joked but, still feeling somewhat on the outside in the obviously close group, Remus began singing the first verse to some song, by his slightly drunken self through most of it until Lily found her cue and carried on, belting out about bread and roses. Though James thought it would just be the two of them, the rest of the group joined in, Lily singing the loudest from the floor.

"Bloody Welsh," Regulas said at the end, patting Lily's head as she laughed at him. James didn't feel like it was real, people didn’t really sing randomly, did they?

After Love Actually and after getting Mary to stop crying over Alan Rickman, sleeping arrangements were to be made. Since she was the most responsible one in the room, Lily began working it out. Obviously, no one would room with Remus and Sirius so that was one room sorted. That meant she could either share with Marlene and Dorcas or have James and Regulas with her, instead of Peter and Mary. 

"Alright, so Marlene and Dorcas, you're with me, James and Reggie, you're with Mary and Peter." Everyone went off to their rooms but Marlene gave Lily a look before walking out of the living room. Like always, Lily and Peter turned off all of the electrical devices before heading to bed, a habit the two had never shaken. 

In her room, Lily was on the floor whilst Dorcas and Marlene took her bed, though it did take a lot of protesting on her part. Lying on a makeshift mattress of spare blankets from the airing cupboard, Lily began to think about what she wanted. She knew she was only twenty-one, but the idea of having a baby was growing on her, more than she'd like to admit. Yes, it meant there would be no clubbing for her but it also meant she could raise a kid, start a family, even if she was a single mum. A single mum. The thought had never occurred to her but, in the dark of Christmas Eve, Lily realised that she was going to be a single mum. 

Early in the morning, around the time BBC Breakfast was beginning, Remus opened his eyes to see Sirius jumping on the bed, trying to wake him up. When he saw he was awake, Sirius got back into bed next to Remus, moving his now cold toes onto Remus' warm leg to try and warm them up. 

"Merry Christmas," Sirius whisper-shouted and Remus chuckled, looked at the time then rolled back onto his side, throwing an arm around Sirius. 

"Merry Christmas to you as well." Remus said, kissing Sirius' shoulder gently as he tried not to shiver from the cold. Shivering wasn't sexy. 

Still, that didn't seem to matter since Lily ran into their room in that moment, landing on the bed with a quiet thump. When the blur of red and blue turned into Lily, Remus gave her a tired smile. 

"It's Christmas." She was grinning widely and Remus gave Sirius a look, one that said "There's something more to this.".

"Do you have something to tell us, Lilykins?" Sirius asked, raising a dark eyebrow at her and she nodded, getting into the bed between the two of them. Luckily, both men wore some form of clothing so there was no chance of anything untoward happening, even if either of them did suddenly decide that they liked women. 

"Last night I decided. I'm keeping the baby," she told them and Remus gasped, hugging her tight. He felt another pair of arms and realised that Sirius was doing the same. 

"We're here for you all throughout it all, Lily, I promise," Remus said, finding Sirius' hand and holding onto it. That's how everyone found the trio, all laying together as they whispered about something. Having been told in the middle of the night, Marlene and Dorcas knew why Lily was so happy, though Christmas did play a large part.

Now that the group was complete again, Lily ordered everyone to the kitchen, though she asked James to stay behind in Remus' room. 

"Look, I thought I should tell you before the rest of them since you're the dad and all, but I'm keeping the baby." Now Lily could hand out her scans, since she wasn't sure if it would be worth it before. Dashing to her room and back, Lily gave James a photo of their baby, making sure to even out any creases. Though she wouldn't admit it, Lily had put her own scan photo in her purse, just to have it near her.

Back in the kitchen, James and Lily both broke the news to Regulas, Mary and Peter, resulting in a load of hugs and one of the two bottles of champagne that Regulas brought, being opened too early. Sat on the counter, Lily watched as Marlene grabbed a knife and tapped it on her glass, grabbing the attention of them all.

"Listen up, you lot! Okay, I've known Lily for a while and we all know that she's going to be a brilliant mum, there is no doubt. Obviously, I've not known James as long but from what I've seen, this couldn't have happened to a better man. You're truly lovely and you're one of us Tonks people so, of course we like you! Back to Lily, I love you, we all do so just know that we are here for you. To James and Lily, Lames!" Everyone began clinking glasses at Marlene's toast, Lily's glass of orange juice not going unnoticed amongst the champagne. 

New Years Eve was spent in a cramped hotel room as the group had travelled to Wales. When they decided on the trip, Lily and Remus were fretting about the money but, despite their protests, James, Sirius and Regulas all chipped in, stating that Baby Evans needed to feel the air of their heritage. Obviously, that was utter rubbish but Lily understood the meaning behind it and agreed. Both Peter and Mary came with them but Marlene and Dorcas stayed behind since they both had auditions during the time everyone else was in Wales.

Since Lily wasn't going to be drinking, James also chose to stay sober, saying that he didn't want Baby Evans' grandparents to think he was a drunk. Across the room, Sirius snorted at that whilst Peter rolled his eyes, moaning about the lack of Graham Norton appreciation in Wales, seemingly forgotten that the man was Irish, not Welsh. 

Laying on the bed with Mary, Lily was happy with this New Years Eve. Though it would've been her first one where she could drink legally, she found she was perfectly alright with staying in a hotel room with a carton of orange juice. Being fair, the fact she could wear purple polka dot tights under a pair of striped trousers without judgement was also nice. 

"Look, it's a minute to," Mary exclaimed over everyone and then the group were silent, waiting for the ten second countdown. Soon, it was the next year and everyone was kissing, though Lily, James and Regulas all sat on the bed awkwardly as Lily passed them each a Malteaser from the big packet she had. It said it was share sized, but Lily was happy to eat it all, as well as the Revels and Twirl Bites.

Nine o'clock the next day, James woke Lily with a cup of tea in a white mug and she groaned, it was far too early to be up. Like she always used to do, Lily began braiding her hair, with one plait on the left and another on the right. From the bottom of her bed, James watched with interest before picking up the blankets he, Peter and Mary all shared last night. Lucky Remus and Sirius got to share the bed with Lily, even if they did have their own room just next door. For a Premier Inn, it was busy, considering they were in Newport. People normally headed to Cardiff, that's where most of the NYE stories Lily and Remus heard came from. 

Stood outside her family home with Peter, Remus and James, Lily realised just how nervous she was to tell her parents. Still, she pulled her orange gloves up a little more and rang the doorbell. The house hadn't changed at all but Lily didn’t know if that was a good thing. Looking over to the right, Lily froze when she saw her old friend Severus Snape stood staring at her in shock. She knew she'd left suddenly but Lily wasn't the person Severus wanted her to be and he expected her to be with him romantically. That was when she knew she had to get out of Wales and Remus just so happened to be leaving. 

"Lily Evans," he said, walking up to her parents house. Next to her, Remus tugged on his yellow parka a little, remembering just how nasty Snape got when Lily turned him down. When he got closer, Peter saw the posters he held in his hands and discreetly nudged James.

"Rod Lestrange," he snorted, thinking about the man's failing campaign. 

"Don't tell me you support him, Sev," Lily whispered, afraid to hear the truth. The man was vile; he believed a woman's place was at home and that white people were the best, typical racist behaviour.

"He has some good ideas. Women thinking they can work, the Muslims coming here. Don't get me started on the gays, Dyllis Jones has been pushing for a Pride. Just thinking of all those gays here in the town makes me sick, sick I tell you." All four stood staring at Severus, though some looked more outraged than others.

"Severus Snape!" Lily turned around to find her mum glaring at Severus, her hands firmly on her hips. "I don't know when you turned into such a nasty man but I hope you change that attitude, I'm sorely disappointed in you. To think I thought you were a nice friend for Lily. Now, if you can't tell, we're busy." Lily's mum let the four in then slammed the door in Severus' face, making James and Peter chuckle. Now they saw where Lily got her temper from. 

In the living room, Helen offered the four a drink but no one accepted her offer so now she and Dai were sat in their armchairs whilst Lily and her friends squashed onto the sofa. 

"Mum, Dad, this is Peter, the one me and Remus live with and this is James. He is important but he's not my boyfriend, please know that." Lily found it incredibly hard to explain what happened so she just went for the truth, blurting it out suddenly. "We had a one night stand and now I'm three months pregnant." She put her hands to her mouth. 

"What?" A shrill voice screeched and Lily put her head in her hands as Petunia stormed into the room, glaring at her sister. 

"Look, Mr and Mrs Evans, I know that we're young but just know that Lily chose to keep the baby and I already agreed to let her choose in the end, since it's her body. Little Baby Evans will grow up knowing the ins and outs of the world and I will be a good dad, I promise." At James' words, Dai Evans stood up and walked over to James. 

"Baby Evans, eh? Welcome to Wales then James." Dai shook James' hand firmly and Lily grinned as her mum came and hugged her, as well as Remus and Peter.

"How come you didn’t shake Vernon's hand when you found out about my news?" Petunia shrieked and Dai sighed as the overweight man in question walked into the room. Neither he or Helen liked Petunia's husband but there was no changing her mind, especially not now she was calling her bump "Duddykins". 

Sharing a look, the four moved from the sofa to the floor, the boys providing a back rest for Lily. Though she was only three months gone, they were all wary of her and she didn't bother complaining anymore. 

"So, when were you going to tell me you were married, Tuney?" Lily asked, looking up at her sister. Petunia looked Lily over, everything from her orange fingerless gloves to the clashing patterns of her shirt and trousers was distasteful. If she looked close enough, Petunia could even see stripy socks poking out from the shoes her sister wore. 

"Who even are you?" The man interrupted, pulling at the too tight collar of his greying white shirt. 

"Petunia's sister, so I think I have a right to know about these things," Lily shot back, looking over to her parents. Stumbling over her words, Petunia tried explaining but only Vernon took the rubbish she said seriously. The four stayed for a while longer until Lily felt it was too awkward to stay anymore. 

With a forced smile, Petunia told her sister that she should come to church with them on Sunday before they all left Wales. When Lily accepted the offer, Vernon shook James' hand, whilst Petunia gave Lily's two other friends another shaky smile. 

Back at the hotel, Regulas opened the door when there was a musical knock. Stood in the hallway, Remus and Sirius were casually holding hands and kept doing so as they walked into the room, Remus' cardigan flying behind him with the speed they entered with. From her space on the bed, Lily got up, wondering what all the fuss was for. 

"Well, do you remember Alastor Moody? Used to be a miner, only gay man for miles?" Remus said, perching on the counter. Since everyone liked to go into the room that Lily shared with James and Regulas, it was always a busy affair. Peter and Mary took up the day bed and Mary put down the copy of A Room Of One's Own that they were reading to listen to Remus. 

"Yes, of course, go on," Lily said, putting her head on Sirius' shoulder now that he'd come to sit with her on the bed. 

"He's having a get together and he's messaged me, he's got Facebook now, we're all invited." Lily cheered, getting up to jump around with Remus. Back when they were kids, the two of them had always wanted to go to one of Moody's parties. They were called Moody's Mad Bashes and Remus supposed that's where he got the name Mad Eye Moody.

Later on that night, Remus was leaning on a doorframe round Moody's house and he was holding a plastic cup of something cheap. The house was filled with crackled sounds from the record players, as well as the occasional laugh or shout from a group of people. Lily entered with a bottle of fizzy orange and, with Remus, went to go talk to Kingsley and Alastor.

"Oh, I know you, but your name is escaping me." Moody shook Remus' and Lily's hand whilst Kingsley found a packet of biscuits and offered them out.

"Lily, Lily Evans," she said taking a biscuit from the yellow packet. No matter where they went, Lily could appreciate a good custard cream. 

"You're no policeman so allow me a drink before you arrest me." Moody winked but Lily was completely lost; of course she wasn't a policeman, how much had he drank? "Polari dear, you forget I'm old and had to ask men if they were friends of Dorothy, back in the old days." Looking at Moody, it was hard to remember that he was old, far older than he looked and that Kingsley was quite a bit younger than him. After the Polari confusion, the older men filled the younger two in on all the Welsh gossip they'd missed.

Around half an hour later, the door opened and Remus smiled at the unmistakable sound of Marlene cackling away. It took a few seconds later for the two to come and greet Remus, hugging each other tightly. 

"How are you doing?" Dorcas asked and Remus knew she wanted the honest answer, not the answer everyone else would expect. 

"Dorcas, I'm good. I'm here in Wales and I can kiss my boyfriend and I'm happy." Dorcas reached out and held his hand, squeezing it gently twice. Once more, the front door was opened, though Remus was too busy accepting a drink from Marlene to concentrate on who was joining the party. 

"Did I hear some talking about being gay and Welsh?" Moody boomed, popping up behind them suddenly, with Kingsley Shacklebolt at his side. 

"Of course you would," Kingsley teased, winking at the man. Back in the miners' strike in '84, Remus knew that Kingsley was a member of the police, at least his dad was sure that was what he did. However, when he saw how people like Alastor were being treated, he resigned and joined them. 

"Are you calling her Dorcas because you're 'so', or are you naff and it's her name?" Moody asked, filling his cup with whatever was on the side table.

"She's called Dorcas, but she's a palone-omi and I'm bibi, so we're somewhat there." Marlene laughed and Moody swept her up in a hug, shouting over how someone else knew Polari. It was then Remus began to understand how lonely it must've been for Alastor, never being able to freely ask if someone was gay or not, instead having to essentially learn a whole new language, just to try and sleep with someone. The man was a gay hero to Remus when he was growing up and he always would be. 

Happily talking away in their little corner, Remus paused in telling Alastor and Kingsley about Sirius when he saw two people hanging at the edge of the group. From the way he stared, you would've thought Snape had converted to the Green Party and was preaching about how university fees should be lowered. Instead, there was a couple dressed in what would be called a calm and simple manner compared to Remus and the others. From where he sat, he saw Marlene reach for Dorcas' hand and he didn't believe she'd let go anytime soon. For this was Frank and Alice. 

In his teen years, Remus took part in the gay cliché of secretly dating someone who was "straight" and wanting to experiment. Rarely did that work out and obviously, it didn't for Remus. Looking at Frank, it brought back all the letters Remus tried to write, all starting with "Darling Frank," because Frank used to be his darling and Remus his dear. Times changed and now it seemed Frank had settled down with Alice, the girl who was Remus' closest friend in high school. 

There were times, in the early days when he and Lily were fresh out of Wales, where Remus would cry out on their tiny balcony in the first flat, not knowing how to cope without Frank. Everything felt like a very bad film, one that had been done time after time. That flat was full of sadness and grief. 

"Frank, Alice." He nodded, pulling on the sleeves of his parka, the one he should've taken off a while ago. Quickly making his excuses, Remus headed off for the bathroom- he knew where it was since he would sneak out to Mad Eye Moody's parties all the time. Once there, he splashed some cool water on his face before sinking to the floor. 

Really, it wasn't right how Frank still got under Remus' skin but he doubted the man would never not bother him, no matter how many years went by. There was a quiet knock at the door so Remus composed himself then opened it to see Sirius stood outside. 

"Moody said you took off and he was worried. You okay?" Though he was the taller one of them both, Remus still managed to fall into Sirius' arms, the comfort they brought warm and reminiscent of that feeling of home. How long they stayed like that, neither knew. All that mattered was that they were okay, no matter who was downstairs or around the corner from Dai and Helen. 

Later that night, Remus stepped outside for a cigarette, not that he was a smoker. Even if he was, he'd give it up for the health of Baby Evans. Out there, Marlene was sat on the floor, one knee pushed to her chest. Sitting next to her, he took a drag of his cigarette and rubbed her knee, feeling her cold legs through her fishnet tights. She looked like the old Marlene that night; the one that Remus met in London. Her skirt was short and purple, almost identical to the one she wore all the time back then. Now, she looked older when she stared at Remus and took his hand in hers. 

"We just deal," she said, exhaling smoke. From where they sat, they heard the loud music and someone shout about dance lessons but it was much more peaceful out there. They didn't speak anymore after that but that was alright, Marlene had summed it all up in three words. 

At the hotel, everyone bundled into Lily's room, watching The Suite Life of Zack and Cody on Regulas' laptop. On the edge of the queen sized bed, Sirius rubbed circles onto Remus' upper arm with his fingers, gently and softly. That night, no one went back to their room. Instead they found a place to sleep in the cramped room, falling asleep as the Sprouse twins got up to something. Both Regulas and Lily lay on the large bed with Remus and Sirius, with James sprawled horizontally at the bottom of the bed. Curled up together, Marlene and Dorcas slept at the bottom of the smaller sofa bed whilst Peter and Mary took the other side. It might've been easier to layer blankets and sleep on the floor, but nobody said they did things the easy way.

On Sunday, Lily decided to ring her mum and tell her that she'd be going to church. Neither Remus or Sirius joined her but everyone else began digging around looking for clothes they could wear to church. Not all of them believed in God but they still knew what it meant to Lily to have her sister invite her. When everyone would be at church, Sirius and Remus would be round Moody's again, having a catch up with him and Kingsley. 

Like always, Lily braided her hair but she took more time and found what Petunia would consider her least offensive dress, a pink one that had blue polka dots and wore a navy blue blazer that was probably a bit too big. With Dorcas' advice, Marlene found a simple yellow dress but she found a striped shirt, large denim jacket and plastic pink hoop earrings to wear with it. Finally, when Mary had finished curling her hair, the group walked to church. 

Outside the church, Petunia gave Lily a strained smile and a weak hug, whilst Vernon gave everyone a handshake, his firm grasp showing off the sweat stains on his shirt. The sermon was very much the usual material that Lily remembered from her childhood, but she wasn't in her Sunday best anymore and Petunia wasn't glaring at Severus. Instead, Lily ignored Snape when he tried to talk to her and held onto Peter's hand before handing him over to Mary. 

Two days later, Peter sat on a train and felt lucky that today wasn't a strike day. Wales was new and refreshing but he missed his little coffee shop and the flat. Speaking of the flat, Peter looked to Remus. Last night, he'd spoken to Lily and Peter, telling them that he knew it had only been a few weeks but in around two to three months, Remus would begin moving out to go live with Sirius. As much as he hated it, Peter had to admit it would make sense to put Baby Evans in Remus' soon to be old room. It was time to admit that they were growing up; Lily was going to be a mum. 

Finally at home, Lily, Remus and Peter sat on the sofa, comfortable with the silence that fell. It was nice to have calm after Wales. Sure, Petunia hugged Lily goodbye but with the whole situations with Frank and Snape, it was difficult to find peace in the storm. 

"Do you think we'll get to do this again?" Peter asked, smiling gently at his two closest friends. 

"You have to, Baby Evans needs their Uncles Pete and Re," Lily said surely, as if she'd seen the three of them raising Baby Evans. Remus nodded, knowing he would always turn up back at the flat for the two of them.

In the quiet of the coffee shop that had been back under Peter's care for a week now, Lily was talking over the table when she suddenly stopped and tapped Remus' arm.

"Did your parents ever sing the song about solidarity?" She asked, looking down at all of their posters. Smiling, Remus nodded then hummed the tune quietly to himself. "Yes, that's the one. Right, teach these lot as much as you can, I have an idea." She dashed off, as well as she could, running to the table where Andromeda Tonks sat with her committee; Arthur Weasley, Gideon Prewett, Minerva McGonagall and Poppy Pomfrey. 

"Hello, what can we do for you?" Andromeda remembered who Lily was and smiled brightly at her. 

"You think that we're a divided community, that we're not ready for Pride. I'm a straight woman myself, a pregnant woman and I'm not worried about my kid growing up around gays or bisexuals. This kid could be transgender for all I know, but that's fine. I just wanted to show you that we're united." Lily walked back over to her table and grabbed a sign, telling the others to follow her. She felt lucky that no one was at work since the shop was closed for the committee meeting. 

Outside, Lily stood at the front of the group and began belting out the opening lines of the song she talked to Remus about. Following her lead, the group copied her and people were stopping to watch them. Inside the shop, the committee were also watching, but they were observing if anyone else joined in. One member gasped as his family started singing along, though Andromeda wasn't surprised to see Molly and her kids at the front line, no matter if she was quite pregnant. The committee now had a lot to discuss.

Late one night, Peter, Remus and Lily were at the shop whilst Fabian Prewett had popped in for a little chat. 

"It's strange. Bill's going to be doing his SAT's next year, Charlie's acting up at school now he's seven, the twins are in their terrible two's but it's Percy that Molly's struggling with. He's showing some signs of OCD but she won't get him tested," Fab said and they began talking about having OCD in a town such as theirs and how little Percy would face some troubles. Back in Wales, there was this boy in Lily's primary school who had OCD and he'd always be washing his hands until they were raw. Five minutes before closing time, Fabian's brother Gideon walked in, holding a box of things which he handed over to Lily, saying they were baby clothes from Molly. Waste not, want not.

February brought Valentine's Day and, though it had been Lily's birthday a week ago, she wasn't looking forward to the day. All it did was remind how about how she was a single mum to be, even if she was on good terms with James. Peter always threw himself into the holiday, creating different heart themed bakes for the shop. If he was feeling particularly nice, he'd cut someone's cheese toastie into a misshapen heart. 

So there she was, working the shift with Fabian since everyone else was either not in or on "holiday", though Lily knew Remus was just round Sirius'. She couldn't blame them; if she had a partner, she'd spend the day with them. When she went into the stock room to pick up a few more packets of crisps since they'd run out, Fab called for her from the front. Back at the counter, Lily found herself staring at Petunia and her husband, Vernon. 

"So this is your shop," Petunia said, looking around at the mismatching furniture and hearing the old Beatles song that Fab had put on through the speakers. Her distaste was obvious. Next to her, Vernon slapped the counter twice before chuckling heartily to himself. 

"Used to work in a place like this myself," he said and Fab nodded in response, taking the crisps from Lily and putting them out on display. Every time he put something out, Lily was amazed at how nice and elegant he could make a few packets of cheese and onion crisps look. 

Though Lily herself still had on her orange gloves and her patterned jumper, Petunia wore a pale pink chiffon blouse with a grey pencil skirt. She always was the one who looked nicer, more put together. Even her hair was better than Lily's; all curled and at her jawline, whereas Lily's plait looked like a rope that hadn't been cut in years. 

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked, trying to cover the Green posters she'd let Peter put up the other day, along with a few photos of Ed Miliband. Remus had found. 

"Since you came to Wales, it only seemed right to return the favour." There was no denying how out of place the couple looked in the coffee shop. People like Andromeda Tonks were the usual customer, not these two people who tried to look classier than they really were. Petunia would never admit to shopping in places such as Tesco, instead she'd complain about the lack of asparagus in Waitrose. 

"Where are you staying?" They had no bags with them so Lily hoped they'd found a place, especially since Regulas had decided that Lily was having a party that night. Luckily, Vernon explained that they were staying in the Premier Inn down the road and that they'd be popping in later, no matter what. 

Since it had become almost routine, Lily wasn't surprised to see Mary and Sirius helping Reggie with the drinks he'd bought because cheap cider wasn't good enough. It didn't really affect Lily, she wasn't drinking either way. Later on, she was sat on the sofa, talking with Fab and Mary about why Would I Lie To You? was better than Mock The Week, though the three all agreed that either QI or Have I Got News For You? was the best one of them all. 

By the window, Remus was in a discussion with Fab's brother Gid and Sirius, though Sirius was concentrating on flicking his cigarette ash into the ashtray on the windowsill successfully. From what she could hear, the words "Nick Clegg", "David Cameron" and "secret affair" were all involved and Lily was somewhat relieved to not be a part of that conversation. At least Gid hadn't brought up the pigs yet. 

Just when Gid was going to bring up the pigs, Regulas shouted out about the door and headed to the hallway. Standing outside, Petunia and Vernon were looking in at the flat with barely hidden disdain. Since he was James, James offered them both a drink, holding up a bottle of rosé in one hand and a can of more expensive cider in the other. 

"No one ever goes, yes James, I'd love a drink," he grumbled, going back to kitchen to talk with Marlene and Peter. In the hallway, Petunia and Vernon walked past Dorcas and Caradoc and Benjy, the people in the flat next door. They never complained about The Smiths being too loud; they just joined the party instead. 

"Lily, I wanted to try and have a relationship with you but I can't when you're such a hippie!" Petunia said, Vernon nodding furiously as she spoke. 

"Are they your words or your husband's?" Lily asked, staring down Vernon as he turned a brilliant red. Some more words were spoken, many of them cruel from one side, until Petunia and Vernon stormed off, leaving Lily. Fab and Mary took Lily to her room and stayed to watch a few episodes of QI with her until she fell asleep. Valentine's Day wasn't the brilliant day everyone made it out to be. 

However, the end of February brought an occasion that sent Marlene into a spiral of hard work that people had never seen from her. She was only twenty-two and she was being featured in a local gallery. Needless to say, she was absolutely euphoric and Dorcas' mood had only risen with her. So she was holding an opening night for a select group of people, essentially meaning everyone who turned up at the flat most of the time. Luckily, Marlene had the sense to hold it on a Friday night so not a lot of people had work the next day and anyway, Lily could head down to the shop since she was in no fit state to drink, even if she was absolutely dying for just a little bit of white wine. 

Down at the art gallery, Lily smoothed down her flowing white dress once more, the one her mum helped to choose as her bump was definitely beginning to show now and she didn't want Baby Evans to distract from what a fucking amazing opportunity this was for Marlene. By her side, Remus was dressed in his usual patterned shirt and jeans but he managed to look a little smarter. Sirius said it would add to the overall aesthetic of the evening, Lily just threatened to pull out his bun. Soon enough, most people arrived and they began to wander into the building, the sound of heels clacking ringing loud above the casual conversations. 

In what would soon be referred to as "Marlene's room", Marlene and Dorcas waited, both looking as strong and powerful as they really were. Going with the theme of her work, Marlene's lipstick was as red as the envelopes of the invitations she sent out whilst Dorcas' nails shone a deep crimson. 

"Hello to you all, I hope you've had a lovely evening so far. Before we all ooh and ah at my shit, let's just talk about what it means. Everyone here knows I'm a twenty-two year old living with HIV and that's really what inspired me. In here, you'll find photographs and paintings all to do with HIV and AIDS which is obviously a big part of my life. When you first get diagnosed, yeah it's shit, but just imagine what the gay men of the eighties thought when they were dying so fast. All your regulars down the bar could be gone by tomorrow and, if you were lucky, you'd get an invite to their party or farewell tour. I'm lucky and I just wanted to get my message across really. Thank you." Dorcas began cheering for her girlfriend and the entire room was filled with people clapping and cheering for Marlene as she smiled and ducked her head. 

Looking at the photo of Sirius, Remus sipped at his champagne. It was an old photo of him, one Marlene took in their last year of high school for her portfolio but it spoke to Remus in an odd way. His hair was cropped so short it was barely there and you could only see the profile of his face as he looked sideways. At the same time, his back was facing the camera and you could make out the sharp bumps of his spine as he sat in a bathtub filled halfway. He seemed vulnerable in a way he'd never shown Remus. The harsh light from the ceiling bulb lit up his face but the darkness creeping from the window gave it some sense of danger, which was really the message Marlene was trying to get across, he guessed. Looking at him, so much younger and so much more emotional, Remus felt his heart break just a little bit, but he didn't quite know why. 

March meant everyone was round again, but this time it was to help Remus begin to move out. Though no one would let Lily carry anything too heavy, she was always there. Most of the time, she was handing out drinks which were either tea and coffee or some form of squash. Since she had a few spare, Mary lent Remus some suitcases to put his clothes in and everyone chipped in with finding cardboard boxes. For some reason, Regulas had a large stash of boxes and would always bring one round after finishing his classes for the day. 

March also meant it was Lily's birthday and everyone kept singing Taylor Swift to her. In the day, James popped round in his lunch break, handing over a card and a sandwich, Lily's favourite type. He apologised about not being able to stay for long but also promised to come round again tonight, along with everyone else. People asked her how it felt to be twenty-two, but it felt the same as being twenty-one, but maybe a bit more pregnant. A lot of people got her a small voucher for baby places and she appreciated it, she did need to start buying stuff. However, she promised not to until Remus officially moved out and that was left for after his birthday. 

Later that night, everyone did visit, including Benjy and Caradoc. Everyone got to talk to Helen and Dai when they video-called Lily which was nice to see. Dai had a good, long chat with Mary over Emmerdale but they had to go all too soon. To cheer Lily up, Remus shoved on some Phil Collins, which was sure to get stuck in her head for days. About halfway through Easy Lover, there was a knock on the door, which Remus answered. There, standing outside his door, was Annie Tonks. Quickly, he invited her in and she took in the interior of the flat. Over in the corner, they had a photo of Graham Norton which had the Communist flag draped over it artistically, according to Marlene, anyway. Above the kitchen doorframe, there was the head of a cardboard cut out of George Michael and, if Annie squinted, she thought she could see a "Choose Life" tea towel. 

In the living room, Lily was dancing with a full-size cut-out of Lionel Richie but almost dropped the cardboard when she saw Annie, who just held up a metallic red gift bag. 

"I know it's your birthday and really, you and all your friends do so much for me so I thought I'd pop in and wish you a happy birthday," she said, giving Lily a warm hug. Annie spent about half an hour in the flat before she had to go home and everyone was rather serious during those thirty minutes but when she left, Sirius began serenading Lily.

On Remus' birthday, they decided to go watch a film. It was new and Sirius said it would be good so Remus told everyone to be ready at the shopping centre at around four. For some reason, Lily needed to buy a pillow but she suddenly decided to play catch with it and so the group of twenty year olds were running around the shopping centre, trying to catch a pillow. In the cinema, Marlene and Sirius were posing with all the film posters but Remus' favourite was where Marlene played James Bond and Sirius was the Bond girl. The film was really good actually, it was definitely something Remus would've seen on his own. They got back to the flat and, like every birthday, he ended up with a Bailey's in one hand and an Ed Miliband biography in the other. Sirius told him that he was moaning about how Ed hadn't written a book yet himself and showed him a recording Peter got.

"Look, I'm just saying that Ed's better than that Balls guy who's just mucking around on Strictly and doing other pointless shit." The drunken ramblings lasted fifteen minutes but it was apparently much longer. 

Three days later, it was James' birthday and he invited everyone out for a quiz night down the local pub, since Remus said that he would "Smash Pointless so look out Richard", but this pub also did nice chips. So they played as the "Mainly gay and mainly Welsh Communists", a name that James loved. It was then he revealed that he was bisexual himself and everyone just nodded. Honestly, as long as who he dated wasn't a massive prick, they had no reason to not like them. 

Everyone began to discuss answers, quietly of course and if anyone even dared to raise their voice to above a whisper, the person to their right would be allowed to hit them with as much force as they wanted. Sirius kept egging James on as he would be the one to hit him but his plan backfired and Lily got a few good slaps in. Throughout the night, Marlene's knowledge of the past and present Royal Families came in handy, especially when she got to act slightly smug about knowing something Sirius didn't. Though it was friendly, the two of them were the most competitive bastards James had ever met and he'd told them this many times. 

That night, they all headed back to the flat after winning a bottle of wine and somebody, probably Sirius, put on a playlist mainly consisting of The Smiths, George Michael and Elton John, with some Bronksi Beat and The Clash thrown in for variety. It was when James recognised the voice of Lionel Richie that he saw Lily for what felt like the first time that night. She was dressed nice, in a deep blue dress that he didn't know the style of, but it looked nice. Her hair was a bit curlier than normal so he figured that she'd curled it and Sirius had probably already marvelled over how she did it and what she used. Really, James thought Lily looked lovely and the odd tightening in his chest reminded him of how he felt when he first entered the coffee shop.

She was stood behind Remus making the drinks and, even if she didn't have make-up on and didn't look like society's traditional view of beauty, she was incredible. The few red spots on her face didn't distract or take away from it, they were her and in the space of a few short minutes, he found himself marvelling over every part of her. This woman didn't have to bend to the whims of the media to be stunning, she was stunning in how she held herself, in how she smiled with sincerity and she was stunning in how she was a woman. 

Maybe he was looking far too into it. Lily was too good for someone like him, a man who was happy with turning up at the front of every protest he went to. God, he was going to be a dad, no more fighting the Tories like he used to. Instead James would put all that energy into being a good dad, a dad that was around for his child. This kid would have the best aunts and uncles ever and they'd grow up not being a total idiot since their family wouldn't be the all white, all straight traditional unit. 

"James, are you coming?" Peter called and James nodded, though he had no idea as to what was going on. Fake it until you make it. For some reason, that was where James' memories of the night ended and all that he could recall was Peter showing everyone a photo of a rat, though he had no bloody clue why he had a photo of a rat. 

Whilst everyone was trying to get up, Mary and Peter were making drinks. Even if he didn't have his fancy machines, Peter could still make a decent cup of coffee and the fact that Mary was there was a major bonus. She had her hair up in one of the messiest buns Peter had ever seen and she had her glasses on but she was still the bubbly Mary that Peter knew and, well, loved. Even if they hadn't had the official "are we just mates or are we actually dating?" talk, it hadn't dulled Peter's feelings. Despite neither of them being their best, Peter decided to be impulsive. 

"Mary, you are lovely and I want to be the one who call when your tea is all wrong all the time. What I mean is that I'd get on the Eurostar and follow you to Paris if it meant you'd give me a chance." That was quite spontaneous really, something Peter usually wasn't. Smiling as bright as the sun, Mary put down the Jeremy Corbyn mug and took Peter's large hand in her smaller one, tracing the lines on his palm. 

"Peter, I hope you know I love you?" Mary tapped his nose with her free hand and the two burst into giggles, resting their foreheads against the others as Peter struggled to get the three words out due to his chuckles. He was stood there in his blue plaid pyjama bottoms and she was in a large Elton John shirt, but they were happy and the room felt as if it was painted in yellow. 

Some when during their yellow moment, Remus walked downstairs. He obviously thought he would be alone because his hair was a curly mess and he wore only a pair of pale blue boxer shorts, not counting the purple velvet scrunchie that was on his wrist. When he walked into the kitchen, Remus stopped and turned back around, which only set the pair off again. 

Back in bed, Remus groaned and stretched his back, his feet dangling off the end of his bed. Next to him, Sirius mumbled, hit him with the floral pillow and then put the pillow over his own head, grumbling about his head. Now smiling, Remus picked up yesterday's newspaper and began flicking through the headlines, picking out interesting facts here and there to tell Sirius. Every now and then, Sirius would make a noise to try and make it seem like he was well and truly immersed in the mess that was Brexit negotiations. 

"Jesus bloody Christ, we're fucked." Sirius now sat up, rubbing at his face. Last night he hadn't moisturised and now his face was as miserable as him. Still, it was a new day and so Sirius began to let go of his skincare regrets and care more about the crumbling state of his supposedly strong and stable country. 

"Well, you are but I assume you mean the country." Remus looked at Sirius without the tiniest hint of a smile on his face and Sirius whacked him once again with the pillow then just shook his head at his boyfriend. Sometimes he surprised him, like when Sirius walked into his flat and found Remus dancing along to Macho Man in a pair of glasses that he swore he didn't need. At least he managed to record the end of it, even if he didn't get his attempts at the splits that went as well as Theresa May's snap election. Not that Sirius was smug about how his cousin Rod lost his seat as an MP, not at all. He was just secretly over the fucking moon that the racist bastard had been taken down a few pegs. Nobody in his family should be in any type of political power, they believed in dictatorship, as long as they were dictators. 

April brought Remus moving out for good. The last night, Remus, Lily and Peter spent the night like they did their first, with a few bottles of something cheap and reruns of Waterloo Road, though they were new when they moved in. When they first moved in, Remus had short hair, afraid of letting his curls loose and wore white shirts with black slacks. He was a typical uni boy until he got over Frank and reimagined himself. The second flat had no trace of Frank and Remus slowly became the Remus that everyone knew. Over time, his pressed white shirts merged into loose patterned ones and soft jumpers whilst his slacks moved to jeans and the bottom of his wardrobe was full of Docs, Converse and a load of socks. 

On the other hand, Peter hadn't changed. His casual and comfortable style had moved into what was fashionable and it made him smile to see people enter the coffee shop dressed like him because it was cool. In high school, when all the chavs were "the populars" with all their brands, Peter was never cool. He had some popular friends like Hestia and Emmeline but they both preferred their group over him, even if they were nicknamed "the slags". Somehow, they were the coolest kids in school and, like everyone else, Peter wanted to be one of them. Looking back, he was glad he wasn't and that he worked hard instead of mucking about.

Then there was Lily. Unlike her sister Petunia, Lily was somewhat popular and she used that popularity to try and convince people of basic human rights for all. Like Hestia, Lily had a not so popular friend in Severus but now Snape was an absolute twat so maybe her old friends were right. Remus, Frank and Alice were part of the cool group and they actually enjoyed high school whilst still getting good grades in their GCSE's and A-Levels. 

That last night, the three of them brought up stories, like the time Frank tried to convince his English teacher that Remus was a werewolf and the time Lily was in France on a school trip and had to work out the French for tampon. That started them off on a rant about unnecessary taxes and brought the through their first bottle of rosé. There were stories that felt like they were yesterday and others that seemed to be a whole world away, but they all made sense. 

Even if Lily didn't speak it aloud, she recalled the early years of living together, both their Welsh accents stronger than the vodka they somehow managed to afford. Most summer nights, they'd sit out on their tiny balcony and, whilst Remus smoke some shitty cigarettes, Lily would stare out at the city, vodka and off-brand coke in hand. They were barely legal then but Remus would chat up the coy employee who would turn a blind eye to the drinks they were buying. That was the year that Remus brought a string of men home as he tried to escape the mess that Frank had created, even if he still wrote letters to his darling Frank. When they managed to scrape their wages together to buy a record player, Frank Sinatra providing the soundtrack to their summer nights. Unlike Grease, neither of them had a lasting relationship, but Lily found men and women in clubs and pubs and bars, all looking for a distraction. Remus found men in sleazy alleyways and toilets and all the old hiding places and they were all looking for something quick, something meaningless. 

Then they met Peter and their lives improved. Nights previously spent getting drunk were now nights sat on the sofa watching Colin Firth and singing along to Mamma Mia, no matter how bad they sounded. Random men and women never came back to the flat and, over time, Remus tried to look for something more serious than the one night stands he'd grown used to in the months after Frank. Mornings were no longer full of trying to find painkillers in the cupboards, but there was coffee and tea and talk of how Gaby Teller could kill you and you'd still thank her. With Peter, Remus and Lily began to live properly and, with the coffee shop, they started something they still hadn't named.

Though it was an absolute mess of a night with far too much giggling and swearing, it was the perfect send off for Remus. 

The next day, it felt wrong for Lily to be crying as she hugged Remus goodbye since she kept thinking he'd be home that night. At least she'd see him at the coffee shop so it wasn’t like he was leaving forever. Still, when it was just her and Peter in the flat, it felt empty without Remus' quiet singing and his floorboards moving as he danced to the music from his headphones. Even the pairs of shoes on the floor felt lonely without the long shoe that escaped from his wardrobe. It hadn't even been a day and the pair missed the presence that had graced their lives for so long.

April also brought Remus back. Late one Tuesday evening, after Holby had finished, someone knocked on the flat door and so, draped in the Communist flag, Peter opened the door to see Remus holding a Kaken backpack full of clothes. When he looked closer, his eyes were red and puffy; he'd obviously been crying. Of course Peter welcomed him in and took his yellow bag, calling for Lily. Since she was coming to seven months, she was quite round but she managed to get to Remus quickly and hugged him as tight as she could whilst simultaneously promising to kill Sirius Black if he hurt Remus. 

"We just fought and he walked out. I didn't know what to do so I left." And now he was regretting it, but t the same time, not. He didn't know relationships and he didn't know if it was the end of the story, or maybe not because Sirius Black was a fucking enigma, one he could never figure out. He used to love the air of mystery that clouded him; now he wanted some truth from him. There was no honesty and he didn't know if the facts he was fed were lies or if he was looking too far into it. 

"What did you fight about?" Lily asked and Remus noticed how they were somehow on the sofa (how did that even happen?) but Peter wasn't there, only he was, Remus could hear the kettle boiling out in the kitchen. 

"Our total lack of anything emotional in our relationship." There was no vulnerability with Sirius, he always had to be strong and wouldn't even ask Remus for a fucking ibuprofen in case he saw him as weak. Every night felt as uneasy as the first and, in the beginning, it was fun to feel as if they were always starting afresh but now, months later, it was exhausting to try and keep anything going. It felt like Sirius was only with Remus for the night, every night, as if there was nothing solid or worthwhile in the relationship. Sometimes, Remus was scared he'd find Sirius on the phone to the pretty girl from the shop, just like Frank did. On the worst nights, Sirius was as distant as Frank was in the end, and so Remus was living in fear that he was waiting to end things with him. 

"I don't think that's true. He looks at you like you're the only thing worth living for and frankly, I'm not scared of what he can do, I'm scared of what he'd do for you. You mean so much to him and I know how much you love him Re, so what's the real problem here?" Lily said as Peter flicked through the records to find Ella Fitzgerald before sitting down with them.

"Me." Remus wasn't used to relationships, he was used to things that went bump in the night and quick fumbles in public places, nothing serious. Sirius was never meant to be such a big part of his life but now that he was, Remus couldn’t say that he regretted letting the other man in. Everything was so much better with Sirius; it felt like Remus had swapped his prescription lenses for rose tinted glasses and the novelty of having a millennial pink sheen cast over everything hadn't run out yet. 

Only, that day at the art museum, Remus saw a side of Sirius he had no idea existed and, if Marlene hadn't captured it, he doubted he ever would see it again. How sad, the only way his boyfriend would open up to him was through a photo that hundreds of others would see. How's that for vulnerability, total honesty and all that emotional sincerity? 

"No, it’s not you. It's Frank, that fucking tosser who needs to be hit for all the shit he put you through." Peter turned off Ella and was searching through the records until he found the George Michael track he was looking for. "Sing along to this, it'll do you some good." The saxophone filled the room easily and, though he felt silly, Remus mumbled the lyrics but, when the chorus came, he found himself being able to belt it out.

"I'm never gonna dance again, guilty feet have got no rhythm!" Whilst he shouted the words as loud as he could, Peter and Lily attempted some sort of waltz around the living room and soon Remus was up on his feet, jumping around but still breathlessly singing along with George. 

"That's it, get some George down you." Peter winked as Lily twirled him around after stepping on his feet. Like Peter predicted, all of Remus' troubles seemed so much smaller as he danced to George and then, when the song ended and Lily used her phone to play music, Jimmy Sommerville. As the three of them tried to copy the Never Can Say Goodbye dance, Remus suddenly stopped swinging his arms in the air and gasped.

"I need to find Sirius," he managed to say as he shoved his feet into his trainers and fumbled with the keys in the door, Rational as always, Peter unlocked the door and patted him on his back before he closed the door again, though he opened a few of the flat's windows, sending the music down the street with Remus. Before he turned the corner, he came face to face with Sirius, who looked even more out of breath than Remus. 

"Remus," he sighed, panting slightly as he tried to get his breath back. "I'm sorry."

"I should be the one apologising." Remus said, shoving his hands in his pockets as he kicked the ground.

"No, let me talk- is that Erasure?" Sirius asked, trying to listen to the faint music and Remus nodded. "Look, I should respect you more and not just because that's the song, but because you're my boyfriend and I can't expect you to not want to know shit about me." Sirius tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear and Remus wondered when things had gotten so awkward between them. 

"I've not a proper relationship before, at least not one where we're both out and don't have to hide all the time, just in case someone finds out." Remus sighed and looked down at the ground.

"Fuck Re, why didn't you tell me?" Remus didn't get to answer since the pair of them were distracted by a woman calling out for Remus in a strong Welsh accent. 

"Alice, what, why are you here?" He asked, praying that he wasn't here but since God wasn't on his side, a man also turned the corner.

"You came to see us, it's only fair me and Frank return the favour, right?" Frank smiled but he couldn't look Remus in the eyes, he hadn't been able to since it happened.

"Fair," Remus whispered, walking backwards away from the Welsh couple until he got to the corner and held onto the street name for support.

"Remus, what's wrong?" Alice asked but Remus couldn't do it, he ran from Alice and Frank, from Sirius, though he heard someone following him and assumed it was Sirius chasing after him. After a few minutes, Remus stopped and began kicking the wall in front of him, not bothering to wipe away the tears that fell.

"Do you want to talk?" Turning around, Remus saw Sirius, standing in the street, lit up by the dim glow of the streetlight and pulling his leather jacket tighter around himself. 

"Not really but I want to tell you." So they sat down together, leaning on the wall Remus was punching not two minutes ago when Sirius took out a packet of cigarettes and offered Remus one by simply holding the box closer to him. Though he wasn't a massive smoker, Remus took one and was reminded of the last time he smoked; the night in Wales when he last saw Frank. 

"That was Frank and Alice. Frank is the boy I dated for the last two years of high school and then through sixth form and Alice is his girlfriend." Sirius passed a red lighter to Remus after lighting his cigarette and waited, not wanting to push him in any way. "Frank was handsome, kind and big on sport, so he was every girl's dream but he didn't want a girl. Young me thought I was so special because he chose me. I thought he loved me." He remembered all the nights when it was just them and Remus didn't have to worry about being too obvious or giving it all away because he was with Frank. Every kiss felt like heaven but now his memories felt tainted, every kiss tasted like a lie. 

"Did anyone know you were gay?" Sirius asked quietly and one of Remus' hands reached out for his, longing for comfort.

"Only Lily. It was very lonely, but I had Moody to look up to, even if the town shunned him. That was why everything was so secret. That was until the day Frank outed me. I still don't know why he did it but he just told everyone. On my way home that day, I was beaten up and put in hospital. When I next saw Frank, he was with Alice. All my exams were luckily done so I stayed at home until my results came and then I left." Throughout his tale, Remus held onto Sirius' hand and Sirius squeezed onto it.

"Remus, I don't know if this is the right time or if there'll ever be a right time with us, but I love you. I honestly do and maybe I should've said it before but you've had my heart from the second you took my order." Sirius placed his head on Remus' shoulder and Remus turned to place a kiss in Sirius' hair. 

"I love you too. I don't know how I couldn't." After a while, they got up and walked back to their flat, holding hands all the way and running across the empty streets. 

Back at the flat, Peter had turned off the music and was sat on the arm of the sofa, staring at Frank and Alice. Neither he nor Lily could believe Frank had just walked into their flat after Alice and made a joke about their hospitality after they didn't offer any drinks.

"Believe it or not, it's three in the morning. Why we'd be hospitable at this time is beyond me." Peter managed to spit out and, though Alice looked scandalised, Frank managed to look abashed. 

"Oh Alice calm down, we're not in the 19-fucking-50's." Lily rolled her eyes and looked at them both. They looked old-fashioned and she found it hard to believe they were only in their early twenties. Looking every bit like a housewife, Alice had her hair curled lightly, a plum pencil skirt and a white blouse with plum pumps to finish the dutiful wife look. Honestly, she looked the spitting image of Petunia. On the other hand, Frank was nothing like Vernon but with his chinos, loafers and gelled hair, he too looked like the part he was playing. If only Alice knew what secrets lay behind the curtain, maybe she'd let her hair down.

"Lily, don't be so rude," she chided, crossing one leg over the other. Again, Lily rolled her eyes, but Peter placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and she began to take claming breaths in and out. 

"She's not wrong dear, it was a surprise." Frank smiled and reached out for Alice's hand. 

"Not a welcome one." Lily mumbled but Alice obviously heard and stared at Lily before asking what she meant, ignoring Frank's pleas for her to just leave it. Unsure of whether to tell her or not, Lily sighs and stands up. "All I mean is I think Frank is spineless and pathetic. He has no loyalty, none at all. Don't listen when he says he loves you, it means nothing." She spat out, glaring at the man who sat on her sofa. 

"Don't you tell such lies, Frank's never hurt anyone!" Alice shouted, standing up to defend her boyfriend. Like Lily, she too was pregnant but Alice was a few years older than them all, so maybe she thought herself more prepared.

"No one but Remus. I'm not going to tell you, it's not my place but please, get your boyfriend the fuck out of my flat." Peter walked Frank and Alice to the door and told Alice to come by sometime, though preferably without Frank.

On the way to their hotel, Alice asked Frank what Lily meant and he sighed heavily. He knew from the start that he'd one day have to explain everything, he just hadn't thought that day would be today. With a heavy heart, he looked at the woman he loved.

"You won't love me when I'm finished, I know you won't. How could you when I hate myself for it?" He said and spoke, not forgetting the slightest detail. Even the bits about how fucking much he loved Remus, about how much he hated himself for not ever being the boy Remus needed. He told Alice how his father saw the lovebite on his chest and discovered it was from a boy. Nothing was left out, from the first to last time, to the beatings he received on the last day, or the choice he was given. "Either tell everyone what Remus was or my father's friends would get us both. I tried to protect him but the boys from sixth form hurt him. I hurt him. Alice, I'll never forgive myself." She stood there, shocked. Not only had Frank hurt someone, he'd loved a man.

"So I'm, I'm just a cover-up? Someone to protect you?" She whispered, one hand reaching for her stomach as if to protect her baby.

"No, no I promise you. I love you Alice, I adore you with all my being, please believe me." Frank pleaded and pleaded but Alice couldn't do it. No matter how hard she tried to think about taking his hand, she thought about Remus and how fucking scared he looked as he ran away from Frank. To think they loved each other once.

"Book another room. I'm not staying with you. We're done." Like all the films, she wriggled the promise ring off of her finger and placed it in Frank's hand before walking off, tears falling down her face all the while. 

During his shift the next morning, Remus wanted to duck behind the counter when he saw Alice walk in. Lily had already called him to let him know what had happened the night before and he didn't want her pity. Luckily for him, she wasn't interested in him but rather a woman with blonde hair up in a high ponytail and a light pink blazer. However, Remus didn't need to be introduced to know this was up and coming Labour face Amelia Bones, but why on Earth was Alice meeting with her? Alice was one of the most conservative people he knew, both politically and just in everyday life. Though she was never outright homophobic, he knew she never felt comfortable around him after he came out. Really, it was a surprise to see her at Moody's that night.

Then he looked at Alice and saw a real difference. For what might be the first time since she started her path of 1950's housewife, she wasn't fully made-up, her hair wasn't gently waved, she wasn't channelling her inner Iron Lady. In a way, she looked older, as if the night had aged her in ways she'd not discuss. 

Still, he wasn't one to judge, not if he swayed along whenever Say Hello Wave Goodbye came on in the coffee shop; not if he drew hearts next to Sirius' name on his cup whenever he ordered from Remus. In a way, Remus was grateful for the lunchtime rush today because making toasties distracted him from everything that had happened but it also reminded him of how chipped the purple polish was; his thumb barely had any nail varnish left so it was probably time to repaint them. That was tonight's plans sorted then; a nail painting session with a nice film on the telly, maybe that new remake of that sixties spy programme. 

Later that night, when he and Sirius were over at the flat and were busy choosing what colour nail polish they wanted, Remus brought up what he saw in the coffee shop.

"Yes well, after last night I, uh, don't think Alice would stay with Frank." Peter waved the bottle of baby blue polish as he spoke, indicating that's the one he'd chosen. In charge of the film, Lily was currently deciding between two spy movies, even though they'd seen one of them before. "Whack on the Armie Hammer one!" Laughing, Lily opened the yellow DVD case and slotted the disk into the player, moving back to the table, which was covered in newspaper in case of any nail painting accidents.

Whilst Lily was talking about how pretty Alicia Vikander was whilst dancing, Remus was painting Sirius' nails a deep plum to match the lipstick he knew they had at home. Now that he'd moved in properly, between them, they had a much larger lipstick collection compared to his and Lily's. Some days, Remus didn't really want to wear lipstick and that was alright, he didn't have to wear it everyday or if he wasn't feeling it. Other days, he did want to wear it and so, in the mornings of those days, he'd sit with a cup of tea and choose the shade he wanted. If it was a coffee shop day, sure, he'd get some stares but a few people would compliment his lipstick and it made him blush with happiness. 

Before Sirius painted Remus' nails a bright sunshine yellow, he stood up and held a hand out to Remus, saying that he'd read about this scene and the Italian song's translation was about missing your love, so they should dance. Ignoring the fact it was somewhat of an action scene, Remus got up and let Sirius lead, dancing in the small space they had with the boxes of new furniture blocking the way. As a truck was driven into water, everyone was giggling as Lily recorded their dance, even the dips that almost ended with Remus on the floor.

Halfway through the can of Pringles, Peter gasped in shock as Alicia revealed a massive secret, and he shouted at the film, screaming at her. Sometime during the film, James had turned up and now he sat on the floor, leaning against the sofa, sipping at a bottle of peach water but, like Peter, James dramatically. 

"Gaby Teller, you bitch!" He exclaimed, slapping his thigh as the other four laughed at him. Lying with his head on Remus' chest, Sirius put a piece of chocolate in his mouth and then in his boyfriend's, gently patting his cheek before reaching down to get his bottle of water. Bottles were safer than glasses and it was getting boring replacing glasses all the time thanks to people knocking them over. Now that there was a baby on the way, it made sense to get into sensible habits now, rather than struggling into them in a few months. 

When the film finished and James was dancing badly to the Glee soundtrack, Peter left to dig out the double air mattress and a few blankets, duvets and pillows since they'd probably be staying round and he and Lily had already sold Remus' mattress for a good £30. Not bad for a second hand mattress. Before he walked back in with all the stuff, Peter sent a quick goodnight text to Mary, just to let her know he was thinking about her (when wasn't he?) and wished her sweet dreams. It'd been a good few months but he still couldn't believe how incredibly lucky he was to have a girl like Mary actually have the same feelings as him. If his life was a musical, he'd be singing love songs all day long.

"Pete, you're missing this, it's a fucking masterpiece!" Sirius shouted over the top of a Madonna cover and so he walked back into the living room. The second he did, he almost shrieked with laughter at the sight of James giving Remus the worst lap dance in history, miming along with the Glee cast. 

"Jonathan Groff shouldn't be ruined like this." Everyone laughed at Peter's words but James jokingly glared before trying to get his leg on Remus' shoulder- and failing. If Remus' hand hadn't shot out and grabbed James, he would've ended up on the floor and, quite possibly since James' was one of the clumsiest people to enter the flat, A&E. 

The next morning, James woke up early and so he lay on the sofa, scrolling through Facebook on his phone but it didn’t take long for him to get hot. Since he was on the sofa, he ended up sticking to the leather, even when he kicked off the Communist flag duvet. Sitting up and making an obscene amount of noise, Sirius waved at James and quietly opened the windows, trying his hardest not to wake Remus. For a while, they each sat on opposite ends of the sofa, on their phones but the silence wasn't uncomfortable, it was nice. Then Lily walked in and sat in the middle of them, resting her head on James' shoulder. Every so often, Lily would show James something on her phone, usually a cute dog or a photo of a celebrity they liked. Even better, there was a picture of Alicia Vikander with dogs so Lily was immensely happy. 

Later, when Remus and Peter had woken up, but before anyone had to head to the shop, Lily sighed loudly. 

"I was meant to go to Berlin soon but then I got pregnant and couldn't book it because I'm having a baby. Fuck everything, I bloody love Berlin and I wanted to see the wall but I can't, I have a baby." She told everyone and Sirius got up to pat her arm.

"When Baby Evans is old enough, we'll take him to Berlin." He promised and the rest of the room cheered in agreement, James shouting random words in a German accent. However, Peter was unusually quiet; normally, he'd be exclaiming with them all, but this time, he was on his phone, tapping away so fast Lily thought his fingers might just fall off. Maybe he was on Twitter, or perhaps he was in the middle of an argument, she really had no clue. 

The next week, Peter's reasons for being so quiet were revealed. When Lily walked into the coffee shop for her shift, she stopped when she saw what had happened to it. Overnight, it had been transformed from the friendly shop she normally knew to a place resembling everything about Berlin she loved, including a poster of Gaby Teller. Peter stepped out from behind the counter, holding a stack of German flag napkins and smiled at Lily, putting the napkins in the box.

"Welcome to our little bit of Berlin." Just before Lily was going to ask for a tour, she heard music coming from outside the shop. Looking out the window, she saw James and Sirius dancing. Of course it was German related- the song they'd picked was Autobahn and Lily was giggling at them. People were staring but, when they finished, Sirius blew them kisses before walking into the shop, greeting them with a German accent. 

"Have you seen the Berlin Wall yet?" James asked after kissing Lily on the cheek and she shook her head. Leading her behind the counter, he pointed to a large rectangular cake iced to recreate the graffiti on the wall and she covered her mouth with her hands.

"It's amazing!" Turning around, she ran and hugged Peter as tight as she could. No matter what had happened, Lily had the most amazing group of friends and, even though at first Baby Evans was a shock, it'd expanded to include James, Sirius and Regulas and she'd always be grateful for them. They turned the coffee shop into Berlin for her, just because of what she said the other day.

"Remus'll be pleased to hear that." Sirius hadn't dropped the accent yet and Lily was going to say something but a customer walked into the shop so that was everyone's cue to get on with their day. Before he and Sirius left, Lily gave James a large hug but, when they pulled apart, she looked into his eyes and something was different. His flushed face and wide smile meant something to her, it felt as if it was the first time they met. Everything felt more, it was new and oh shit, she fancied the father of her child. 

Looking at James as he walked out of the shop, Lily found herself wanting to cry. Nothing ever went as smoothly as she planned. All she wanted was to raise her child right and fancying the man who got her pregnant wasn't part of the plan. Yeah, it made sense for Baby Evans to have two parents who were together and in love, but they weren't and Lily's feelings were probably one sided and not wanted. God, what if he knew? Her life would be over if he knew and was laughing about it. She felt like she was in high school all over again, living her life as if she was from Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging, or some other teen book. 

"Lils, you alright?" Turning around, she saw Peter stood at the counter, obviously just finished an order. Shaking her head, she smiled and headed off to go get her apron and start working. 

In June, Lily felt awful. Pregnancy was horrible but she was dreading the actual birth of the baby. Though she'd been for her scans regularly, she and James decided to not know the gender of the baby until birth; it wouldn't make a difference with how they decorated or anything. Today, since it was Saturday and Gideon's day at the shop, they were all going to paint Baby Evans' room. Everyone liked the idea of yellow but painting the whole room that colour might be too much so, after a few meeting in the flat and some trips up to B&Q to look at the colour samples, it was decided yellow would be a feature wall with the others grey. 

"Snazzy." Remus said as he stuffed his pockets with the colour sheets, saying they'd look great on their wall at home. The so-called wall was a wall that had memories stuck all over it, from photos to tickets to festival wristbands to posters. Peter adored it and copied it by buying a new corkboard and pinning everything on there. Baby Evans was already featured on both and they weren't out the womb yet. 

At home, Lily was looking at the aforementioned corkboard and smiled at the photo of her and Peter dancing in the living room. They were probably dancing to Bowie or something along those lines, but that didn't really matter. What mattered was how happy they looked. Going by the picture, it was probably the first year in the flat, the Communist flag wasn't up yet, but both she and Peter looked like they were having the time of their lives. 

"I brought rollers!" Regulas walked into the flat with a paint roller in either hand and Lily gratefully took them into the empty room. Ready to decorate, Regulas wore old faded jeans and a band t-shirt. He'd already taken off his shoes when he dumped his overnight bag in the hallway next to James'. 

"Everyone's in there, we're just waiting for Remus and Sirius. Marlene's already covered in paint and I'm just glad we're getting new carpets next week." Lily smiled and handed over a bottle of orange squash before going to make another bottle. She'd already taken packets of biscuits into the room and hoped they'd last an hour at least. 

"Lils, get in here, Pads will know we're here!" Smiling at James' words, Lily made her way into the room and managed to sit down in the seat Mary got out for her whilst everyone started talking. Paintbrush behind her ear, Marlene was instructing James on how to properly put the skirting board tape on the wall whilst Dorcas and Mary were checking all of the paintbrushes and rollers to make sure they would all be alright to use. Whilst they waited for the last two to arrive, Lily, Regulas and Peter discussed whether a Colin Firth poster in Baby Evans' room would be acceptable. 

"The gays have arrived!" Sirius' shout made the room laugh but when he and Remus entered the room with large Co-Op bags, everyone cheered as Sirius pulled out a bottle of flavoured water. Looking through the bags, Lily happily took out a packet of apple slices and started eating them since she wasn't allowed to paint. Nobody wanted her to somehow go into early labour and so she was put on snack duty. Even at the shop, there was a chair by the counter which she sat on when she went in to work; Lily didn't want to not go in but she promised Peter that she'd take maternity leave next month. 

"Right, this wall is yellow wall, we'll do the grey ones first." Mary told everyone, drinking from her bottle. When she put the lid back on it, Peter handed her a paintbrush and everyone began painting, with Marlene carefully painting the edges of the walls either side of what would be the yellow wall. Everyone seemed a bit down, as if they expected it would be more fun so Lily put on a Spotify playlist they all made together. Instantly, Sirius perked up and began painting in time with the music. By accident, Dorcas splashed paint on Regulas and he took offence, painting a line of grey all down her back. Whilst painting the three walls, they also painted each other until they'd finished the grey walls, which took quite a while. 

Even though a lot of them felt like they had no effort, Marlene pushed them onto the final wall and, since they were some sort of double act, Sirius dramatically rose from where he'd slumped against Lily's chair and moved into the centre of the room.

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends." He held out a hand for Remus to take and picked up a clean paintbrush in the other. Following his example, everyone else in the room began to start painting again, only this time they were using sunshine yellow. Overall, the room was light. The grey she, James and Peter all picked out was still quite light compared to the deep charcoal shade Marlene edged towards and, matched with the yellow, it was just right for Baby Evans. 

The next day, everyone was sat in the coffee shop, since all three of them were on shift that day, and Marlene was sat with her head in the paper. Everyone was subdued thanks to the terror attack that had happened but a few hours ago. Mary was on her phone, scouring through all the online news to try and get updates. Both Remus and Lily were in shock; the attack had happened in Wales, in their town. Someone had driven into a group of people, most of whom were not white. Two people were dead. As she tried to serve a customer a ham and cheese toastie, Lily's hands shook so violently that the customer asked if she was okay. 

"Lily, Remus, they caught who did it." Mary showed them her phone and both of them recognised the face on screen. Barty Crouch Jr., an odd boy in high school who kept to himself. Scared, Lily looked up Severus' Facebook page and almost dropped the phone when she saw his cover photo. Along with the LeStrange brothers and a few other faces, Severus was stood in a group with Barty. If she looked further into his photos, there were pictures of him and Barty getting matching tattoos together, showing off said tattoos and just a lot of pictures in which he featured. 

"Severus, they're friends." Remus took Lily into his arms; Snape might've been a racist, greasy bastard but he was once Lily's friend so obviously she'd be shocked to know he was in with a dangerous group like that one. God, Remus knew Snape wasn't a nice guy but fucking terrorism? Murder? That wasn't real, that was not happening. Someone he knew had not killed two people. 

"Remus, shit, he's shaking." He heard people talking but he only noticed things properly when he felt a warm pair of arms around him and his nose was met with Polo Red; Sirius. Then Remus began to cry, it was silly, he knew that but he also imagined that other people back in Wales would be doing the same thing.

"I need to make some calls." First off, he rang Moody and Kingsley, having already called his mum and dad, though they'd moved to Brighton a year ago. They must've been near the phone since Kingsley picked up on the second ring. Immediately, he reassured Remus that both he and Alastor were okay, they hadn't even left the house that day. Well Kingsley hadn't, Alastor was out protesting already, no matter if he was in his late sixties, he wasn't standing for the same shit he thought he'd left behind years ago. 

Helen and Dai were okay, though Helen was still a little shaken after being not five minutes away from the attack as she walked home from the shops. Neither of them knew what to say when Remus told them it was Barty who did it. After a few minutes of silence, Helen made a shaky reply telling Remus that he was such a nice boy, always so polite whenever she saw him in town.

"Suppose it's because I'm white." She sounded so distraught, but she'd known Barty ever since he was a little boy, she'd seen him grow up and Helen didn't expect something like this to happen in her town, let alone from someone she knew. Everything was fragile back in Wales now and everyone was scared that the slightest disruption would shatter everything. Then Moody picked up his sign and made his way to the town, shouting all the way and somehow he barged through the gentle front without breaking a thing. 

"Oh, before I forget love, Emily from Number Seven sent out her wedding invites before it happened, both you and Lily are invited with plus ones, though I suppose in Lils' case it'll be plus two!" Remus promised to pass on the message to Lily and his parents before hanging up and calling around others, including Frank and Alice. 

"Remus." Frank sounded almost happy to hear from him and Remus tried not to let it get to him, but Frank would always get to him. Quickly, he managed to find out that both Frank and Alice were alright, even if Alice had moved back in with her mum and dad whilst she looked for flats elsewhere. Last Frank heard she was looking outside of Wales, even a few streets away from Lily and Peter. After saying goodbye to Frank, Remus noticed that James had entered the shop and had all but swept Lily off her feet in a tight embrace. 

"Everyone's alright. Your mum's a bit scared but no one was hurt. Emily from Number Seven is getting married next autumn and sent invites for the pair of us." Lily laughed from inside James' arms whilst Peter handed over a packet of Skittles, telling them all that the sugar was good for the shock. It was then the coffee shop doors opened and James' parents walked in, dressed as smart as ever. Fleamont Potter shook everyone's hands, no matter that he'd met most of them before. Doing the same, Euphemia paused when she got to Remus and Lily and she pulled them both into a hug, whispering about how glad she was that they were both okay.

For a while, Fleamont and Euphemia sat at a table, talking to them when they sat with them or when they had to serve a customer, from behind the counter. Bruno Mars was playing, but the old songs, the ones that Remus revised with, and he began to notice something. Whenever a particularly mushy one came on, James' eyes were stuck on Lily but, when he wasn't looking, she sent a pining glance in his direction. Speaking to Sirius, he nodded and his boyfriend agreed; they were the biggest idiots either man had seen, since it was obvious to see how they felt about each other. 

"It's like what she said in Sherlock, not the queerbaiting but um, you look sad when you think he can't see you or something." Remus used to know massive chunks of dialogue since he'd binge watch Sherlock whenever he had a chance but after season four, he boycotted the series, saddened by the queerbaiting that he'd witnessed. With the writers involved, he really thought there was a chance but no, his gay hopes and dreams were dashed. 

"You know that Effy's a hairdresser?" Sirius said, plan already forming in his mind. "Well, Lily's been after a haircut for ages now and if we let Eff into what we know, she'll give Lily a bit of a talking to." High-fiving each other, Remus and Sirius called Euphemia over and began to start Operation: Jily as they'd call it thanks to Euphemia's suggestion of what their ship name would be. 

Later that night, with everyone at the flat- nobody wanted to go home, not when Lily and Remus were still hurt, Regulas raised his glass.

"Today was shit. Yes, posh boy Regulas Black said shit, get the fuck over yourselves." Marlene honest to God snorted when he said that and Dorcas was almost crying with laughter at her girlfriend's reaction. When she'd calmed down, Dorcas adjusted her white cotton dress and moved closer to Marlene, intertwining their fingers together. "Sometimes I hate the world we live in and I hate people like Crouch. I hate the people all the time, the world, not so much because I look around and I see how you look at everything and no matter what's happened to you, you still look at the world in yellow. I fucking love it and I love you." Fighting the tears in his eyes, Sirius looked through them and hugged his little brother, patting his back a few times. Whilst they had their emotional moment, Lily sat in the corner of the room, furiously wiping away tears before smiling at the rest of the room and asking if anyone was up for a trip to Tesco's.

As they all found their coats, Lily opened the scarf and hat drawer to get her keys when she also discovered a pair of earphones, the good kind, not the crappy Poundland ones that made it seem like the music was in another room. Whilst that was a thing on Tumblr for a while (Lily, Peter and Remus occasionally put on La Bamba From Another Room), Lily didn't want to listen to it every time she put on a song. Nodding absently, she shoved them in her pockets and ushered everyone out the door before locking up. Then they all walked down the road to the small Tesco Extra, though Sirius and Marlene stayed outside to smoke whilst Lily went in with everyone. All that Lily wanted was to pick up a couple more cartons of orange juice whilst they all bought cider and other drinks. Mary looked overjoyed with the bottles of Disaronno and Coke she had in her hands.

Walking up the stairs to the flat, everyone noticed that Benjy and Caradoc were having a party but no one wanted to go so Peter just snapchatted Benjy a video of Remus telling them to play good music before letting everyone into the flat again. Whilst everyone got settled in the living room, Lily excused herself to go to the bathroom. There, she gripped onto the edge of the sink so hard her knuckles turned white and she lowered her head. She could hear The 1975 from next door and she felt like all the notes on the 'from another room' blogs. It wasn't that James even liked someone else, it was just the overwhelming feeling that she'd fucked up that was threatening to ruin her.

God, why wasn't she cooler? Surely she should be in the bathroom at some party, crying because she saw the boy she fancied kiss someone in front of her and there should be a bottle of vodka on the sink. Instead, she was in the bathroom of her own flat, pregnant and crying because she fancied Baby Evans' dad, even though she ghosted him after seeing him with another girl outside Wetherspoons. Wow, Tumblr worthy story there Lily. Then there was a gentle knock at the door.

"Lily, you alright?" And of course, it was James, who the fuck else would it be? She'd forgotten when she'd signed up to her life becoming some shitty rom-com, but why not?

"Peachy." She heard James laugh and she smiled herself. "I'm not opening this door you know? I've been crying and I look like shit." Again, he laughed and Lily made her best efforts at wiping away the black smudges under her eyes that was once Maybeline mascara. All of a sudden, there was this bang against the door and she hissed- if he was trying to break down the bloody door, she'd kill him.

"I'll just sit here until you do." Lily could imagine him, with his back to the door and that smile on his face. She found herself sliding down the door until she was doing the very same. It felt like that Doctor Who scene where David Tennant and Billie Piper had their hands pressed against the wall in two different dimensions. Benjy and Caradoc's music taste changed dramatically and some soppy love song could be heard through the walls. Thinking about the whole situation, Lily almost laughed. 

They stayed like that for a while until James cleared his throat.

"Lily, if I tell you something, will you open the door?" He fiddled with the watch he wore, not quite believing what he was doing; his brain was screaming at him, calling him a smitten fool and he couldn't say it was wrong. 

"Depends on what that something is." With the dim yellow light of the bathroom, Lily felt like everything was softer, less harsh and that, no matter what James said, it couldn't hurt as much as it would otherwise. 

"I'm in love with you." He didn't mean to blurt it out, he had a whole speech planned out about how her freckles blessed her sun-kissed skin, how her laugh was music to his ear, how her voice was the most important thing the world could hear, but Lily just meant more than all the words he had and, according to Sirius, that was a lot. Not only was she easily the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen (himself as a female thanks to an app included), she was smart, political and was so fucking strong. God, she was everything. 

"Oh." Shit. Okay well, rejection was fine, He could do that. Yeah he'd be fucking heartbroken but he wouldn't be bitter like all the men that proved that Men™ were trash. "Well that's good since I've been crying about the fact I messed up by fancying you." Then the door unlocked and Lily smiled at him. Her face was red, puffy and stained by mascara but she was stunning. Not wanting to break any boundaries, James hugged her tight, taking in the smell of the Marc Jacobs perfume his mum bought her for her mixed with the Dove deodorant she used. "Kiss me you silly bugger." So he did. 

In desperate need of a wee, Remus made his way to the toilet but paused when he saw James and Lily, both sat down and absolutely going for it, kissing as if their lives depended on it. Smiling to himself, he turned around in the direction of the door to go ask Caradoc if he could use their loo. 

For the most part over the next month, things were good. Sure, she was in absolute agony a lot of the time but James was slowly moving stuff in so he could help with Baby Evans when they arrived and they'd had a few date nights at the flat. Their latest one included Night At The Museum, a lot of ice cream and discussions of baby names and if the little guys were gay. 

"What about Henry?" Lily suggested after they'd picked their top five girls names (in no particular order; Stephanie, Delilah, Gemma, Dorothy and Chelsea) and James nodded, waiting for Lily to take a spoonful of ice cream before speaking.

"Or maybe a strong Welsh name like Gethin?" She nodded approvingly, thinking of a few nice Gethin's she knew back home. "Or Barry?" Lily gasped and a little bit of ice cream escaped from her mouth so of course James laughed himself to tears.

"Just you wait James Potter. Barry Evans." He carried on laughing until his stomach ached and he could barely move. "I'll batter you with this spoon all the way to Wales where you can explain to Mum and Dad that you want to call our child Barry." This threat sobered James up completely and he promised to behave.

"Barry's better than what Sirius wants to call it; Actual Proof That James Potter Had Sex With Lily, that's a bit of a mouthful." For that one, she did hit him with the spoon but they were both laughing, that was until Lily had to put her feet up and change position because her back ached and there were these sharp pains, but it was probably just Braxton Hicks, she'd had them before but luckily Helen was round having a cup of tea so they headed to the hospital. Luckily it was nothing so Lily didn't really want to trouble the doctors since the pains would be gone soon.

The only problem was that they didn't go. In fact they got worse. When Lily stood to tell James that she thought they should go to hospital, the worst thing happened. Worse than going to Tesco's and all the nice sandwiches being gone. Worse than making a cup of tea and finding you didn't have any milk. Worse than the bastard Lockheart. Her waters broke. Gasping, she looked at James only to find he had the same look of shock plastered on his face.

Whilst Helen and Dai drove them and Peter to the hospital since they were all staying in the same flat, Peter was on the phone to Remus whilst Dai was ringing Marlene and James was trying to calm Lily down as Helen drove as fast as she could without breaking any speed limits. Remus promised to get Regulas down the hospital and Sirius was already shouting down the phone at Fleamont and Euphemia. The second they hung up, Peter dialled Mary's number and had to shout to be heard over the noise of Lily's screams. His personal favourite was when she promised to hang James by the balls and see if it hurt as fucking much as it did her. Even Dai cackled but quickly stopped when Lily's murderous glare was directed his way.

"These men are bastards Lil, ignore them dear." Helen smiled calmly after narrowly avoiding a red light and turning into the hospital. Parking haphazardly, she told Dai to get a wheelchair and, when he returned with said wheelchair, she threw the keys at him, saying she'd help Lily in and oh, Peter be a dear and wait for Dai, would you? Still screaming, Lily told everyone to get the fuck on with it and so that's why, at twenty five minutes past ten at night, James Potter was running down the hospital corridors to the maternity ward, pushing his shouting girlfriend in a wheelchair with a soon to be grandma shouting that her daughter was giving birth and the strong Welsh accent just made it even more comical. If Lily wasn't in so much pain, she'd be laughing her head off about it all. 

Now she was in the trusted hands of the midwife everyone had met, Lily should've felt calmer but she'd seen a woman with her newborn baby in the hall so now she was crying about the size of the thing and how that had to come out of her. Behind her, Helen was gently running her hands through Lily's hair, then rubbed her shoulders, the tips of her hair brushing her knuckles from it's shorter length. Looking around, Lily saw James and Dai but nobody else was there.

"Where's Peter and Remus?" James explained that everyone had just arrived and were on their way but they'd only be allowed to pop their heads in before heading back out into the corridor. Only a few minutes after that question, Remus and Peter stepped into the room and told Lily just how amazing she was. Close to tears, she grabbed both of their hands, saying over and over how much she loved them before they had to go.

Out in the corridor, Euphemia, Fleamont and Dai all shared the seats whilst everyone else either stood or sat on the floor, preparing themselves for what they expected to be a long night. Already, Mary was making a note on the calendar on her phone: July 30th, lily gone into labour. All sharing a look, the three already parents began sharing advice with them all. They said to make a trip to a shop now and get some supplies since birth does take a while, so it's better to have everything at the start rather than miss out when Baby Evans was actually born. With that, Sirius and Regulas opted to go to Asda, going around the group to see what everyone wanted before setting off, Remus promising to text if anything changed.

"We'll most likely be here overnight." Peter put an arm around Mary and she leant into the embrace, looking down at her battered Converse, the shoes she just shoved on her feet after getting into her flat seconds before the phone call. There wasn't even enough time to wipe off all of her makeup so there she was, sat in the waiting room with the face she wore to the drag night with Remus and Sirius. They picked the worst night to go out, though nobody was expecting the baby to arrive yet; there was still a week until the due date. Luckily Remus hadn't dressed up to extent of Mary and Sirius, but there was still a few looks at his blazing red lips.

"I wish I asked for makeup wipes." She sighed, tapping her feet together as if she was Dorothy and her red high-tops were ruby heels. 

"I did and I asked for a load of chewing gum and other stuff." Remus smiled, thinking about how Sirius and Regulas would be debating if it was worth buying two balloons now or going back to get the gendered one. Knowing them, they'd come back with the entire shop, as well as a few things from Morrison's as well. Still with a smile on his face, Remus put in an earphone and leant back against the wall, bringing his knees up to his chest so nobody would trip over the long limbs, honestly he was like a bloody daddy long legs. 

For a while, they all sat in the waiting room, quietly talking to each other until Sirius and Regulas got back. Of course everyone would be a bit happier seeing a man dressed as Hedwig holding a few Asda bags in a maternity ward waiting room. 

"You wouldn't believe all the looks I got in Asda, I just blew kisses at the bitches. Sorry we took so long, I wanted to go home and get my makeup so Baby Evans will see me at my finest: in drag." Remus rolled his eyes fondly at his boyfriend before getting up to give him a hug, whispering in his ear how wonderful he looked, as if he hadn't told him that about fifty times earlier that night. Sensing that everyone was a bit out of it, Sirius decided then would be a good time for his musical tribute to Neil Patrick Harris. Complete with Marlene taking the role of Luther, he strutted around the small room, dropping and twirling as he sang about sugar. True to the performance, he all but climbed on Peter's lap, grinded on Mary and, at the very end, pulled Remus into a sloppy kiss; as if he'd kiss anyone else. 

Now with the notebook and pen she asked for, Dorcas started writing away, talking to Marlene here and there. Every now and then, Marlene would take a photo on the disposable camera the boys picked up for her but she wouldn't give any warning, she said she wanted candids to go with what Dorcas was planning. For a few months now, Dorcas had had this vision of Baby Evans all grown up, looking through photos of everyone waiting for them to be born along with a written account of what was going on. With everything that had happened, she wondered if Evans Junior would actually believed that Uncle Sirius turned up in drag or that everyone planned to wait for as long as they needed to. 

Much later on, when people were struggling to stay awake, Regulas turned to Dai and asked about what it was like when he first met Helen. Chuckling to himself, Dai had to think about it before answering.

"We were still young but I bumped into her at an outdoors screening of Pretty In Pink, no matter that it was a few years old now and I just thought I know you." It was as if they'd lived life after life and always found each other, as if they were soulmates. All his mates thought he was pissed and that he needed some water, but Helen smiled at him almost like she was saying nice to see you again, I missed you. The rest was history really.

Those left awake smiled at how romantic it was whilst Regulas sighed, hoping that one day he'd find someone like that. Even his brother had found love, he thought, looking over to where he and Remus sat slumped against the wall. Since he was shorter, Sirius leant on Remus with his head on his chest and Remus had an arm wrapped around him. Both were fast asleep and Regulas suspected it was thanks to all the drinks they'd had earlier that night. In Asda, Sirius kept giggling and stumbling everywhere and, though he blamed the heeled boots, they both knew it was just the fact that he was drunk. Still, Regulas held no grudges and had already mentally made plans to get a McDonalds breakfast for them all. 

At about six o'clock, Marlene woke up. Her mouth felt like something had fucking died in it so, being as quiet as she could, she stood up and went to go find a water cooler since the Asda trip didn't include water but 7up since they were all addicted to it. With only her socks on her feet, Marlene was a little worried that she'd slide all over the place but, so long as she was careful and didn't run, she wouldn't fall tits over arse so that was alright. Though she was well acquainted with the hospital, she'd never spent time in the maternity ward so this was all new to her. When Marlene got her water, her mouth felt better but she was dying for a fag and she knew where the smoking area was so, thanking every god she knew that she had her cigarettes on her, she walked out of the hospital doors, not really giving a shit that she only had sparkly yellow socks on. 

After finally lighting the cigarette, Marlene looked up at the sky and realised she was awake to see the sunrise. Inky shades of pink and red bled into orange and she wished she had her camera on her. That was just how it was she supposed, always wanting what isn't available. Running a shaky hand through her hair, she sat down on the pavement, still staring at the sky. Maybe that's why she was surprised when Dorcas sat next to her. Dorcas, dear darling Dorcas, the only woman Marlene wanted to settle down with. Hands intertwined, neither said a word but it was enough. 

Back in the waiting room, most people were still asleep when the two got back but Fleamont waved at them with his glasses on and a plastic cup of coffee in his hand. Everything was calm and peaceful until James ran through the doors, shouting at the top of his lungs that Baby Evans was born. At first, Sirius wanted to throw his gold boot at whoever woke him up but then he heard what James said and he screamed. Jumping up and down with his best friend, Sirius hugged him tight before passing him around the room for everyone to do the same. Regulas picked up an Asda bag and pulled out the bottle of cheap champagne they bought last night as well as the plastic Hello Kitty cups that were on offer. With Mary's help, the two filled enough cups for everyone and they all cheered to Baby Evans.

"What is Baby Evans? Mini Marlene or Mini Sirius?" Peter asked, smiling after he saw Marlene take a photo.

"Fuck off if my son is like either of you twats." Dai walked up to James so James stuck his hand out but Dai just laughed. 

"Make sure you give my grandson a proper Welsh name." James laughed, thinking about his and Lily's earlier conversation (was it really only last night?) when Dai gave him a strong hug, patting his back exactly twice. 

When James left, Sirius grabbed a plastic bag and ripped open a packet of balloons, throwing everyone one and telling them to blow it up then he held up a load of masks. His plan was to put the masks on the balloons because James and Lily weren't the people to want the 'It's A Boy!' balloons so this was new, original and a brilliant idea for the 'Mainly gay and mainly Welsh Communists'. It was then Sirius remembered balloons needed helium to float and he swore but Fleamont was there to save the day.

"There's a McDonalds around the corner, I'll buy us all breakfast and get them to blow these up, even if it means paying extra." Euphemia went with him, after taking everyone's orders and so, when the initial excitement wore off, the reality of having a baby was kicking in.

"We've got a baby." Peter said and Dai just laughed at them all as they murmured to each other. They'd all have to grow up a little bit to deal with the reality of a newborn but he had no doubt that his grandson would grow up with the best aunts and uncles around, even if none of them were actually related to him. Lily would have fun explaining that to him one day. It would teach him to not be too judgemental, Dai hoped, since there were gays, lesbians and all sorts in this group of theirs but he'd grown to, well, love them all. Baby Evans was sure to as well.

With the balloon fiasco sorted out, Remus decided it would be best for them to drop off the balloons, say hello and leave since Lily was probably feeling like complete and utter shit after having a baby. After knocking on the door, he waited until James opened it and welcomed them in, laughing at the balloons they all held. When Lily laid eyes on them she simply rolled her eyes before turning Baby Evans to face them all.

"Look Baby Evans, there's your Uncle Remus and his punk rock boyfriend Sirius." Sirius put up his hand with his thumb, pointer and little finger stuck out and Remus smiled, kissing his cheek. "There's Auntie Marls and Dorcas, aren't they pretty?" Both women waved at the baby, grinning widely at Lily. "Don't forget Uncle Pete and Aunt Mary because they'll feed you up with cakes." The two laughed but it was true, when he was old enough, they'd always sneak him a biscuit or two. "Then there's Uncle Reggie, who'll teach you how to be clever like him." Regulas blushed slightly but smiled warmly at her. "There's Granddad Dai, Grandma Effy and Granddad Monty." The three grandparents ahhed at the sight of Lily and her baby, he was absolutely adorable. "That's the family Baby Evans."

A few weeks later, James and Lily were taking their baby home from the hospital. What they didn't know was that Remus and Peter had organised a welcome home party for the two and that Euphemia and Fleamont had stocked their cupboards full of all the things they'd need for Baby Evans. Nobody knew the name of him yet since Lily decided she didn't want to let go of Baby Evans yet, though both her and James had been using his name for two weeks now. 

At the flat, Remus was running around making sure everyone had a party hat on and that nobody (Dai) was at the food yet. The guest list had grown but he was sure Lily would love it, of course she would. He knew her well enough to know that, but there was a guest that nobody was sure about. Who even invited her in the first place?

All his worries stopped when James and Lily walked through the front door with Helen and Fleamont and everyone took part in the overused cliché of shouting surprise even though nobody hid or jumped out. Still, they seemed to love it since Lily was near to tears and James was smiling even wider than he normally did. 

"Oh Mum, why didn't you tell me to dress up a bit?" She moaned and Helen just shrugged her shoulders whilst James shook his head. Sure, her hair was thrown up and bits were falling out at the back; maybe she wasn't dressed up in that velvet wrap dress she saw in H&M but she was Lily Evans and she looked flipping marvellous. 

"Will you formally introduce us to Baby Evans?" Marlene said with an arm casually around her girlfriend's waist. 

"Yes, yes, everyone this is Baby Evans, also known as Harry James Evans-Potter." In the hospital, Lily told James how she couldn't get Barry out of her head but there was no way she was naming her firstborn son, or any son for that matter, Barry. Good with quick thinking, James suggested Harry and she instantly fell in love with it, it was perfect. Whilst James then argued it should just be Harry Evans, Lily wouldn't take no for an answer with the hyphenation and eventually managed to sway James. 

"Perfect." Peter smiled from the living room and Lily called him over, telling him to hold Harry whilst she said hello to everyone. Before James left them to see his mum, he let Peter know it was fine to pass him on to Remus, patted him on the arm and ran up to Euphemia. 

Already apologising to Benjy and Caradoc for the noise, Lily covered her mouth with her hands when she saw Annie Tonks and her family. She shook Ted's hand, praying that he thought she had a good handshake- her high school business teacher said she did. With a smile, Annie handed over a shining red gift bag and gave Lily a warm hug; she smelt like cigarette smoke, mint chewing gum and Yves Saint Laurent. 

"Give me your phone, I'll give you my number and if you ever need to call me please do. Being around Arthur and Molly means I know a lot about kids." Surprised, Lily did as she asked and found it was incredibly easy to get along with Ted, he was just a generally nice guy. Lily's happiness soon ebbed away when she saw Alice stood in the doorway, looking awkward and unsure. 

"Alice." Jumping slightly, the woman made her way over to Lily and, for a moment, Lily was confused by the lack of baby she had then Amelia Bones walked up to them both, a baby in her arms. She never knew they were friends. 

"I'm here to say sorry. Before, I was properly out of order and it was so unfair of me. I am so sorry Lily, can we please start over?" Alice wasn't Frank. She was a woman who was probably just as terrified as Lily and really, they were going through a similar thing right then so wouldn't it be nice to have someone who's as unsure as she was on her side?

"Sure. I want to get to know Alice, not Mrs Longbottom." Alice winced and held up her hands which were both ring free.

"I left him properly. Suppose it's for the best." Before Lily could ask for any explanation on that, Alice was needed at the door and she was left with Amelia and the baby, who Amelia said was called Neville and had his dad's surname. Then Alice came over and kissed Amelia's cheek before excusing them both from the conversation- Alice's mum was there for Neville and they wanted to see him off. Lily watched them go and nodded. She never knew Alice was queer, or Amelia for that matter.

Over the next few months, Lily, James, Peter and Mary got little sleep. Though Harry was adorable, he seemed to hate sleeping and would wake up crying whenever he felt like it, which was a lot. Whenever they got him to sleep, James and Lily all but passed out on the sofa, even if they should really be tidying. Once Lily fell asleep in the middle of folding the clean washing and she woke up to the smell of fresh cotton and the noise of a screaming Harry.

When he popped out to Tesco for bread one time, James got a panicked phone call from Lily. At first he started worrying, what if something awful had happened? Then Lily cried out that Harry had been sick on her and she couldn't put him down to get changed since he was crying so she'd taken the dirty top off but then he'd thrown up on her bare skin and James, stop laughing and get home! Remus had received many FaceTimes from James and Lily where they were talking and Harry just threw up everywhere. 

Luckily, after Harry's first birthday, things started to look up. He slept a bit more, he stopped being sick all the time and his hair was growing; he looked like he'd inherited James' hair, the poor boy. Still, he had Lily's eyes in what was James' face (apart from the nose which everyone agreed with Sirius') and everyone mentioned it whenever they saw him. Like most toddlers, Harry was somewhat chubby but when he started walking, he never stopped. Remus liked to brag that he was yhe one to teach Harry how to walk since he began unsurely stumbling when he and Sirius were babysitting.

Whenever someone asked what was Harry's first word, James and Lily would say it was mum; they'd never admit that he made a noise that sounded suspiciously like Colin when they watched Nanny McPhee together. He also pointed to the poster of Colin that was on the wall and made the noise but that was a coincidence, at least until he was a bit older.

On his third birthday, Harry decided he liked apples now, not bananas so they all had to rush to Tesco's to find some apple slices for him since he had the Birthday Boy Badge™ on and so they had to listen to him ("Sirius, I swear I will steal your Andrew Scott t-shirt if you don't stop!"). The next day, he said to his mum that actually, bananas weren't that bad and she almost had a nervous breakdown. With the nose and the dramatic flair, Lily swore he was somehow related to Sirius and James made his three year old son promise him that he would never appreciate the punk scene.

Aged five, Harry was taught by his Uncle Peter how to ride a bike. At first, Harry was a bit upset because Uncle Peter's bike didn't have to have four wheels like Harry's but then Uncle Peter told him that actually, four wheels is cool and anyway, his bike had tassels on it so his must be the best bike. Secretly, Harry agreed but he didn't want Uncle Peter to feel sad so he let him know that his bike was nice too. When they got back from their bike ride in the park near Grandma Effy and Granddad Monty's house, Uncle Peter gave him a chocolate biscuit since he was a good boy and Harry ran around the coffee shop telling everyone that he was a good boy.

When he got a bit older, Harry was allowed to go for a sleepover at Auntie Marls' house. Him and Mummy packed his stuff in his cool butterfly bag that Daddy bought him and they walked over to the house. She kissed him goodnight and said that if he wanted to come home at any time he could, just let Aunt Marls or Aunt Dorcas know. Since it was dinnertime, Auntie Dorcas made him the chicken rice that he really liked and Auntie Marls let him have the last slice of chocolate cake for pudding. At bedtime, Harry went to sleep but he woke up later, scared because he didn't have his nightlight. Luckily, Auntie Marls came into his room and gave him a hug so he felt a bit better but not completely. The solution was for him to sleep in the big bed with his auntie's and, by the time morning arrived, both women were hanging onto the edge of the bed to stay in it whilst Harry spread his limbs out like a starfish.

One night, Lily invited everyone around and they all sat in the living room, drinking wine from mugs since the wine glasses were in the dishwasher. Peter and Mary were the last to arrive since their new house was the furthest away and neither was used to the distance yet so they mistimed their journey. However, Peter noticed what Lily was drinking and sighed heavily.

"Here we go again, Baby Evans Potter 2.0." Sirius gasped dramatically and Remus just rolled his eyes at his husband but kissed his cheek when he started smiling at them.

"No, we are not having kids whilst we live in that flat." He pouted and everyone laughed but Harry walked into the living room, asking what was going on.

"Well Harry, your mummy has a baby in her tummy and in a few months, you'll have a little brother or sister." Harry just stared at him. "You were a baby in her tummy once."

"Sirius I'm ten, you can say she's pregnant." Everyone laughed again as Sirius opened his mouth, not really knowing what to say back. That child had obviously gotten Sirius' sassy gene. 

Quite a few years later, fifteen to be precise, Lily finally made it to Berlin. In a hotel room, Helen curled her hair for her whilst Marlene took photos on a more professional camera than the disposable ones she used at both births. Using the bathroom, her fifteen year old Dottie was busy doing her makeup whilst she sang along to some song Lily knew none of the words to and Dorcas was looking through a Tesco Bag For Life to try and find the blue garter she saved from her and Marlene's wedding to be Lily's something borrowed and blue. 

Across town, James was already in the church with all his groomsmen, bar one. Outside the church, Sirius had a cigarette in one hand and his phone in the other as he tried calling but it was to no avail, there was no bloody answer. Freaking out enormously, James was babbling until Peter put his hands on his shoulder and told him to just breathe. In the middle of his panic, Harry walked into the church, looking up in awe at the wonderful ceiling.

"You bugger, running late like always. Why is it that you're the late one when you were born early and Dottie late?" James threw his arms around his son, careful to not mess up his turquoise suit that Harry had loved since he first saw it. The church doors opened once again and this time it was Harry's two best friends, apologising profusely. Hermione patted down her yellow dress, saying how she told the boys to hurry but they didn't listen. Laughing, Remus put an arm around them both and complimented Ron's red tie which was when James realised how they'd all dressed in primary colour. Apparently, primary colours attracted the eye more than any others and those three were always being looked at, even when they just went to McDonalds for a hangover breakfast. Somehow, even when the attention was negative, they treated it perfectly well. If it was really bad, Ron would just make the wanker sign at them whilst Harry flipped them off. Classy children.

Now that guests were beginning to line up outside, James invited them all in and got himself up the altar. Looking in the crowd, he saw Alice and Amelia giving him a thumbs up whilst Neville and Frank just smiled at him. Happy to come, Annie, Ted and their daughter Dora all waved at him and James waved back when the church doors opened for one last time. When he turned, James' jaw dropped. Like the very first time he saw her, he was overcome by the sheer beauty that was Lily Evans. She was just as stunning now as she was twenty-five years ago. Like all those videos of grooms on their wedding day, James had to wipe away tears as she walked closer. 

Noticing that he was crying, Lily began to almost dance up the aisle and James laughed, it was perfect. Of course Sirius and Peter noticed and began to disco whilst even Remus, sensible Remus, shimmied his shoulders. By the time she got up the altar, everyone was moving in some sort of way and James' vision was still blurred by his happiness.

"Why are you crying? Have you been listening to old Panic! again?" She whispered, taking his hands in hers as he laughed, swaying their hands before the priest began talking. 

The actual ceremony was just that: a ceremony. Vows were made, a kiss was shared and husband and wife walked out of the church. They spend a good amount of time saying hello to everyone whilst Remus and Sirius danced with Dora Tonks since they'd already started playing Erasure on someone's speaker because the music hadn't began yet. When it did, James took Lily by the hand and led her to the dancefloor. She'd been the one to pick their first song and, when her dad gave her a big thumbs up (and forgot he had his cane in that hand so almost dropped it), she knew she made the right choice.

Growing up, her dad would always say to Lily how he and her mother were meant to be together in every lifetime and, whenever they were lucky enough to find each other, they never had to really get to know each other, they just had to remember what they'd learnt before. He'd always use the words 'at last' and so Lily began to class them as words of love. Etta James just summed it up.

As they swayed across the floor, the crowd around them parted and Teddy ran up, asking if he could dance too. Fondly sighing, Remus tried to guide his son off the floor but Lily slapped his arm, telling him to let the boy dance. Duran Duran was playing and that wasn't fair- Remus fucking loved Duran Duran, how could he not dance? At least Sirius and Peter joined in so they were all embarrassing their children together.

Later that night, Harry got his own back on his parents when he went up to the DJ and started saying something nobody could hear but he gestured as wildly as his dad and everyone could see his hands flying everywhere. Disco music filled the room and, knowing what was going on since she was the one to teach him the bloody thing, Marlene got a spot with a good view of the dancefloor, ready to take photos that James and Lily would most likely cry at.

By putting his arms out and spinning around, Harry managed to make everyone form a circle and began dancing like Auntie Marls did when he used to stay over. She caught his eye and winked at him, pushing the button on her camera. Surprised, Lily and James watched Harry pull Marlene onto the floor with him and, with her red lips formed into a grin, she began to copy his steps, though she moved like she knew them well. Together, the pair gained the attention of everyone in the hall and were treated to applause when they finished. 

Since most of the guests were on the dancefloor now, Lily stepped outside for a minute. Breathing in the chilly Berlin air, she jumped when Remus walked round the corner, fag in his hand. He held her hand and she squeezed his gently. A few minutes later, Peter joined them with a glass of wine and Lily laughed.

"It's always been us. Only now, we've got kids and drink better wine than the shit we used to." Peter raised his glass to that and Remus smiled at them, exhaling smoke.

"You might've given more grey hairs than I needed, but you're worth it. You both are." Lily ruffled Remus' hair whilst Peter put his head on his shoulder, sighing softly. "Once my boyfriend turned up at the hospital in drag, I don't think you could've gotten rid of us." The two laughed at him but Peter got distracted by the fireworks in the distance. Somebody else was celebrating as well. 

Slowly, a few other joined them. Marlene and Sirius were sneaking out for a cigarette when they saw the three and so they stood with them, well Marlene sat on the floor, nevermind that it was bloody cold Lupin, her back fucking ached. With a whole bottle of wine, Regulas made his way over to them, drinking straight from the bottle like the wine aunt he was. Soon, Dorcas came looking for her wife and just smiled when she saw them all together. She sat next to her on the floor and felt a gentle pat on her shoulder which was probably Peter. James made it there and so did Mary, but she'd found a blanket from somewhere so that was draped around her and Peter. From the hall, they could hear George Michael and Elton John and it felt like old times, back when Lily was first pregnant and they all stayed round the old flat nearly every night. 

Then Harry and Dottie found them all and Harry tried to persuade them to do shots but only Regulas was up for it so the plan was forgotten. More and more people came outside until everyone was there and James snorted.

"If I'd known we'd all end up out here I'd have thrown some deck chairs in the park behind the hotel." And yes, James wished more than anything he'd gotten married while his mum and dad were around to see it but that sense of happiness in the air was the same feeling James got when his mum and dad made him a proper Sunday dinner so he knew they were there really. Having Kingsley there was just as good as having Alastor there and Kingsley even took him aside to tell him how glad Alastor was that Lily found a bloke as nice as him. James would happily admit he almost cried.

Really, all that mattered was that he loved Lily. 

"Stop thinking, I know you're being romantic, you soppy bastard." Okay, maybe she was still an utter twat, but he loved her. Life was good. And, yeah, Lockheart lost his seat so maybe life was more than good.

**Author's Note:**

> i feel bad for how i left things with frank so:  
> -alice left him for a woman but that's alright, he can tell they really do love each other.  
> -neville convinces his dad to get back out on the dating scene when they move away from wales to be closer to the uni neville's going to and manages to get him a date.  
> -waiting at the restaurant, frank almost bolts but then gideon prewett sits down in the seat and something just seems right.  
> -they end up going to jily's wedding together.  
> -they get married at sixty and go to every pride they can.


End file.
